That is true but CPUs and panels do decrease in power usage over time to the point that you can adopt Retina in MBA without harming the battery life. Not to mention if they find a way to cut down on the weight, they can also increase the battery's capacity.
The Retina display in iPad Air is much more power efficient compared to the retina display in 3rd gen iPad due to reduction of backlight LEDs and move to IGZO type of panel.
Re:An 11.88” Retina MacBook Air
by snowwrestler on Saturday January 25, 2014 @07:00PM
(#7123101)
Yes but as CPUs and Retina panels get more efficient, they will be placed into the MacBook Pro as well.
Not so much in battery tech. It's really holding back a lot of hardware innovation on computers and also holding back the viability of EVs for many consumers.