Despite the official word that the iPad battery would last 10 hours, most reviewers have found that the battery lasts longer and is much more powerful than expected.

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January he claimed that the battery would last a full 10 hours, which many thought was unexpectedly long. And unlike most portable devices, the iPad battery actually lasts longer than Apple predicted.

Reviewers from the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others, found that the battery lasted for more than 10 hours after it was put under normal strain. One reviewer played movies on the iPad for a continuous 12 hours before the battery died.

iFixit took the device apart and discovered that the power of the iPad is actually due to the use of two batteries, each similar in size to current iPhone batteries. But unlike the iPhone, each battery contains nearly 2.5 times the power and capacity, making the iPad five times more powerful than the current iPhone.

While the iPad batteries are larger than the iPhone’s, Gizmodo pointed out that the next iPhone could be getting more power in the future as Apple continues to increase the speed and efficiency of its batteries.

Apple knows that battery life has long been a common concern for mobile device users and has taken efforts to make sure that users aren’t disappointed by the iPad’s battery, which many expected to have a similar life expectancy of a laptop battery.  

Image via Gizmodo.