13" TB Battery Woes Deterring Purchase

[BlackMamba14]

Was all set to purchase 13 TB Pro but am really concerned about the below 6 hour battery life with "normal use".

Anyone regretting their purchase? Or is this overblown?

 

[Orien]

I'm getting around 8-9hrs with normal use.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I'm getting around 8-9hrs with normal use.

What is "normal use," and how do you have your Mac set up?

 

[PaulWog]

Was all set to purchase 13 TB Pro but am really concerned about the below 6 hour battery life with "normal use".

Anyone regretting their purchase? Or is this overblown?

Until a reputable source releases proper battery benchmarks, I just don't know. And asking around won't do much in the way of garnering a definite answer.

If I were buying today, I would see if I could go into an Apple store and sit down with a new model for 30 minutes (unplugged from the wall). If it goes down by 10%, then you'd know 5 hours is the approximate normal expected battery life at that setting. I don't exactly have time for that though (somehow I have the time to waste on these forums!).

 

[BlackMamba14]

Until a reputable source releases proper battery benchmarks, I just don't know. And asking around won't do much in the way of garnering a definite answer.

If I were buying today, I would see if I could go into an Apple store and sit down with a new model for 30 minutes (unplugged from the wall). If it goes down by 10%, then you'd know 5 hours is the approximate normal expected battery life at that setting. I don't exactly have time for that though (somehow I have the time to waste on these forums!).

It's tough to know with all the anecdotal evidence. But I think it's pretty clear the days of 10+ hours is over.

Really in need of new computer. So may just take the dive with the MB Pro or was also considering a SurfaceBook

 

[skids929]

I have a 13 TB, had a 15 TB...The 15 I got about 7 hours at best (returned it, mainly because it was too big for my needs), this 13 I get about 8-9 hours. And I have everything cranked down, Siri off, Keyboard backlight off completely, autbrightness off. things like that. Kind of stupid to have all those features if you aren't going to use them. Overall I love the 13 TB but the battery thing has me questioning returns at times. As a poster above stated, I think the days of 10+ hours battery life are over and I need to just come to grips with that if I want to keep this.


If you go non TB you'd get about 11. The reason that is tempting to me is that batteries don't get better with age, so you figure starting out low it will only degrade over time, and so will the allure of the touchbar-which I enjoy. But the non TB seems to get MacBook Air-like battery times.

 

[tjleonard]

So, as someone that's not having great battery life, I would tell you to order it and wait to see what happens in the meantime. You have until Jan 8th to return it, plus you'll go ahead and get in the "queue". You really never know to if Apple will release some kind of update, or what will happen, but if you get it, not satisfied, send it back (you can click a button or two online and just mail it back to them...SUPER easy).

 

[Queen6]

It's tough to know with all the anecdotal evidence. But I think it's pretty clear the days of 10+ hours is over.

Really in need of new computer. So may just take the dive with the MB Pro or was also considering a SurfaceBook

I opted for the Surface Book, as I need decent battery life and ports that are relevant today in 2016, not 3-4 years downtime road. Very impressed by the Surface Book battery life is just not an issue, no need to baby it, or turn off features, and absolutely no regrets. If anything I will be opting for a 2nd Surface Book with the Performance Base on the update next year to Surface Book 2.

Q-6

 

[skids929]

I opted for the Surface Book, as I need decent battery life and ports that are relevant today in 2016, not 3-4 years downtime road. Very impressed by the Surface Book battery life is just not an issue, no need to baby it, or turn off features, and absolutely no regrets. If anything I will be opting for a 2nd Surface Book with the Performance Base on the update next year to Surface Book 2.

Q-6

But now you have Windows! I'll take marginal battery life over windows ANY day!

 

[Queen6]

But now you have Windows! I'll take marginal battery life over windows ANY day!

Personally I am fine with Windows 10, for my usage it`s more stable than OS X, nor do I see one OS being significantly better than the other, just different. A notebook with a flat battery is of little use to me...

Q-6

 

[BlackMamba14]

I opted for the Surface Book, as I need decent battery life and ports that are relevant today in 2016, not 3-4 years downtime road. Very impressed by the Surface Book battery life is just not an issue, no need to baby it, or turn off features, and absolutely no regrets. If anything I will be opting for a 2nd Surface Book with the Performance Base on the update next year to Surface Book 2.

Q-6

Thanks for the info, my only concern was with Windows since I haven't used that platform for quite awhile. The design is great and am really impressed with changes they've made recently.

If the MB got 10 hrs I'd get it no questions asked. Really don't want to go Windows but might have to

 

[skids929]

Thanks for the info, my only concern was with Windows since I haven't used that platform for quite awhile. The design is great and am really impressed with changes they've made recently.

If the MB got 10 hrs I'd get it no questions asked. Really don't want to go Windows but might have to

You won't get 10 hours on a TB model, you just won't.

 

[Apple_Robert]

When did the mods start allowing vulgar cursing on the forums (re: Win****)?

 

[Queen6]

Thanks for the info, my only concern was with Windows since I haven't used that platform for quite awhile. The design is great and am really impressed with changes they've made recently.

If the MB got 10 hrs I'd get it no questions asked. Really don't want to go Windows but might have to

I think Apple will be able to optimise Serra more to achieve better battery efficiency, as that has always been the case with OS X. That said 10 hours might be a push in real world usage, my Retina MacBook is the same requiring a careful eye on the power budget to get decent numbers. The way I look at it is the smaller the battery pack, the less you have to "dip" into making the impact of user actions far more significant.

As my notebooks are for business purpose, I am very cautious and took close to a year to finalise on the Surface Book & W10. Microsoft`s OS is far from perfect, equally heading in a good direction. I had to relearn some aspects, equally nothing terribly challenging. Surface Book has a 70Wh battery capacity, so with light to moderate use 10-12 hours is possible.

Q-6

 

[skids929]

Personally I blame the damn non TB model for all the confusion. That thing should never have shared a chassis with the TB model and should never have been referred to as a "Pro" model. It has no ports and not enough power to earn that badge. If this MBP line started with the TB it would have made more sense for people and quite honestly maybe they could have added a millimeter of space or something to accommodate a slightly larger battery to get the 10-12 this model deserves.

 

[SurfaceBookUser]

I'm getting around 8-9hrs with normal use.

Exactly the same for me. Base 13" TB upgraded to 16GB RAM. Normal use being web development work at 70% brightness.

 

[BlackMamba14]

Exactly the same for me. Base 13" TB upgraded to 16GB RAM. Normal use being web development work at 70% brightness.

That's good to hear. If I could confidently get 8-9 without having to power down most of the features or change my work flow I'd be more than happy.

 

[justinf77]

Also getting 8-9 hours here on my 13" TB MBP. Not as good as my MacBook Air but decent, and enough for my usage. After all these complaints I would not be surprised to see a larger battery in the next revision.

I've also been considering the non-TB version, but since I got the TB one first I've already grown accustomed to Touch ID and the touch bar itself, and don't really want to let those features go. Not to mention the additional ports have already proven useful, and if I were to go with the non-TB model I'd need to buy a hub right away.

I'm almost positive I'll be keeping the TB model. Aside from the mediocre battery life I'm in love with every other aspect of the machine.

 

[BlackMamba14]

Also getting 8-9 hours here on my 13" TB MBP. Not as good as my MacBook Air but decent, and enough for my usage. After all these complaints I would not be surprised to see a larger battery in the next revision.

I've also been considering the non-TB version, but since I got the TB one first I've already grown accustomed to Touch ID and the touch bar itself, and don't really want to let those features go. Not to mention the additional ports have already proven useful, and if I were to go with the non-TB model I'd need to buy a hub right away.

I'm almost positive I'll be keeping the TB model. Aside from the mediocre battery life I'm in love with every other aspect of the machine.

Do you feel like the TB was easily integrated into what you do or did you have to remind yourself to use it?

It would be interesting if they would have added Touch ID to the non TB model.

 

[happyslayer]

I've only been using this one for a day--had a TB 13 i7 upgraded model yesterday that was too powerful and ultimately too expensive for my needs and returned it for a base model TB 13 early this afternoon. While using both of them, I have actively been trying to use the Touch Bar as much as possible and I am really loving it! I can't wait for a few of my more used apps--please release an update soon, Scivener!--to be updated.

Also, related to the the thread question: the i7, 16GB, 512SSD model got terrible battery life--about 5 hours. This base i5 model is getting about 7-8 hours per the battery usage drop down. Though this is its first cycle so... may have to wait for it to level out a bit, and I am going to do an SMC reset in the morning after a full charge.

 

[Cvx5832]

Was all set to purchase 13 TB Pro but am really concerned about the below 6 hour battery life with "normal use".

Anyone regretting their purchase? Or is this overblown?

Easy. Buy one, configure it the way you would have it and find out. That way you'll know exactly how many hours it would last in your scenario.

Apple's holiday return policy is incredibly long but I'm sure you'll figure out if it's for you in a couple weeks, maybe sooner.

 

[skids929]

Easy. Buy one, configure it the way you would have it and find out. That way you'll know exactly how many hours it would last in your scenario.

Apple's holiday return policy is incredibly long but I'm sure you'll figure out if it's for you in a couple weeks, maybe sooner.

This ^^^...The only way you will know if it works for you is if you take it home. I bought a 15 and 13 (on that now) to test out, then ordered the config I wanted. Even order a non TB (upgraded version last night so I can try that too side by side with this TB. It's the only way I can properly research these with all the controversy. Thanks Apple, hope you like returns!

Overall though, other than being pissed the battery life on the TB falls short of what Apple says it would, it works in my situation because I don't travel a ton with my MBP. Mostly I am home, from couch, to kitchen island to chair so always able to throw it on a charger. In that way the TB works for me, which is why I will likely go with it. My only other concern is that batteries degrade over time so if I am getting 8-9 now what's it look like in 5 years. I have kind of resigned myself to the fact this machine won't last as long as my white MB 13 did (11 years!). So I will buy this with the intent to replace in 5 years if it's pissing me off at that point.

I need a laptop now unfortunately and can't do Windows, just can't. And I love everything about this new MBP with the exception of price and battery life falling short.
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Personally I am fine with Windows 10, for my usage it`s more stable than OS X, nor do I see one OS being significantly better than the other, just different. A notebook with a flat battery is of little use to me...

Q-6

OMG I am laughing, sorry not at you. But seriously, how do you figure W10 is more stable than Mac OS? Give me an example...I own both OS and can tell you thats not my experience. You can spec up whatever machine with Windows, completely pimped out i7 KL 16 GB ram etc, and the equivalent (or less) spec'd MBP will crush it. It's because the way the software controls the hardware, Mac OS does a much better job than Windows ever has, or ever will.

But really enjoy your PC..Not sure if I bought a PC I would come to an Apple site unless I was feeling some buyers remorse.