10% battery drain in 5 minutes. 15" MBP '16

[Nik]

Hi,
I used my new 2016 MacBook Pro 15" to do some encoding and lost 10% of battery within 5 minutes.

Is this considered a professional notebook? Seems more like a joke.

 

[myscrnnm]

Does "professional" mean all-day battery life? I am so tired of people saying the MacBook Pro should be a "professional" laptop and that it isn't a "professional" laptop. Everyone from casual users to content producers are part of the target market for the MacBook Pro line, and they all use the computer for different things. Is a gaming laptop a joke because it gets two hours of battery life? If you're doing intensive tasks with your computer, you can expect battery life to suffer. While I agree a 10% drop in battery life in five minutes is insanely high, it's also a very small sample size. I think several sessions of encoding, and for several minutes would be a more accurate representation of what one can expect from the MacBook Pro.

 

[vmflapem]

Hi,
I used my new 2016 MacBook Pro 15" to do some encoding and lost 10% of battery within 5 minutes.

Is this considered a professional notebook? Seems more like a joke.

idk about it being professional but 10% in 5 minutes is pretty jokes...

 

[Nik]

The old one had around considerable more battery life while doing the same task.
50 minutes of work on video projects is enough in your oppinion? It renders in the background.

 

[emailnotebox]

Does "professional" mean all-day battery life? I am so tired of people saying the MacBook Pro should be a "professional" laptop and that it isn't a "professional" laptop.

don't be so tired, op doesnt seem to be arguing that

 

[Nik]

The CPU was not even at 100%. More like 70%.

 

[cmaier]

70% CPU is quite a lot of current being drawn.

 

[Howard2k]

You were probably hammering the CPU if you're doing encoding. Perhaps the GPU at the same time depending on the specific operations. I know it sounds crazy, but yes doing those things uses more power. Kinda like driving with your foot on the floor will use more gas.

I wouldn't be too alarmed by a 5 minute operation though. Battery life isn't an exact science, it's an estimate based on the battery characteristics.

 

[Nik]

So, what battery life do you get when using professional applications? I get at most 1.5 hours. At most.

The thing is: When taxing the CPU for only 5 minutes, you lose 1 hour of actual use since your battery lost 10%. That is the real issue with this. That was not such a big problem with the old MBP.

I found a YouTube Video which supports my claim of this notebook having some serious problems when its actually used for professional work. Look at 10:18

 

[Howard2k]

Lasts for ages in Excel.

 

[magbarn]

Something's gotta give with the 20% smaller battery for the Holy Grail of Thinness. Sky lake is able to conserve better than haswell when idling but when pushed it draws close to the same power as haswell. That's when the smaller battery hurts.

 

[Nik]

Here we go, another one. Starting at 10:00!

 

[cmaier]

So, what battery life do you get when using professional applications? I get at most 1.5 hours. At most.

The thing is: When taxing the CPU for only 5 minutes, you lose 1 hour of actual use since your battery lost 10%. That is the real issue with this. That was not such a big problem with the old MBP.

I found a YouTube Video which supports my claim of this notebook having some serious problems when its actually used for professional work. Look at 10:18

When using high CPU (>25%) I expect very low battery life.

You are playing a little semantic game, though, by using "professional applications" as if only your type of application works. I get very good battery life for the software I use for my profession.

 

[Nik]

When using high CPU (>25%) I expect very low battery life.

You are playing a little semantic game, though, by using "professional applications" as if only your type of application works. I get very good battery life for the software I use for my profession.

Please watch the reviews I embedded. This is a considerable downgrade.

 

[cmaier]

Please watch the reviews I embedded. This is a considerable downgrade.

It's only a downgrade if you think you should be able to peg the CPU while on battery. I don't. I get 8-10 hours battery life with my 15" tMBP, which is about what I got with my 2014 rMBP, so I'm happy with battery life.

 

[nikhsub1]

Well, I have a maxed TB MBP 15" and I unplugged it an hour ago, little less actually, and my battery is at 82%. I have Safari, Chrome, iTunes and System Prefs open. It is mostly sitting idle as I'm still using my 2014 MBP as my main machine (and as I type this) until I can sort the new one out. But by these number it seems best case scenario is 5 hours of battery. Not good.

 

[cmaier]

Well, I have a maxed TB MBP 15" and I unplugged it an hour ago, little less actually, and my battery is at 82%. I have Safari, Chrome, iTunes and System Prefs open. It is mostly sitting idle as I'm still using my 2014 MBP as my main machine (and as I type this) until I can sort the new one out. But by these number it seems best case scenario is 5 hours of battery. Not good.

How many watts is chrome using?

 

[MH01]

Encoding will eat through your battery. Ive done some intensive CPU tasks, and the battery drops fast on the 2016. If you are going to be pushing the CPU/GPU , suggest plugging the power in. Its one thing that disappointed me. I ran the 2015 and 2016 encoding the same video and the 2016 was about 30% worse battery wise when it finished.

 

[Jonesmak]

everyone suggested the smc reset and I was skeptical. I just did it and battery life went from 2:59 left to 5:58 left. Also I had no "chime" when I plugged in my charger before the smc reset and now I do.