16gb RAM? How's Your Battery?

[SamVilde]

I've been following multiple battery related threads while trying to figure out which configuration to buy. There's great inconsistency based on individual usage, but I have noticed many more people complaining about lackluster battery on models with expanded RAM. I'm wondering (diagnostically) if there's a real and consistent pattern here, and if so, does it apply equally to the TB and nTB versions.

The poll Q is for 13" models - comparing TB to nTB.

Please be explicit with your configuation data in the comments.

 

[LogiLink]

I have 6 to 8 h on Early 2016 i7 16GB

 

[SamVilde]

Not enough respondants to be scientific, but enough to begin to be interesting. Thanks for playing.

 

[Turpentine222]

TB MBP 13" i7/16GB/512GB : I'd say about 6-7 hours with screen at 75%

 

[Bending Pixels]

A lot depends upon what you're doing. Simple web surfing or email - 6-8 hours. Fire up any processor intensive app like Lightroom, 3-4.

 

[blairian89]

My 13" TB (3.3/512/16GB) gets between 10-14 hours dependent on use. I can do a ton of things to slam the battery life down, like increasing the screen brightness, but light use and reasonable settings go far for me.

 

[SamVilde]

My 13" TB (3.3/512/16GB) gets between 10-14 hours dependent on use. I can do a ton of things to slam the battery life down, like increasing the screen brightness, but light use and reasonable settings go far for me.

Your signature indicates that you have the 2.9 version also. Is the battery range similar?

 

[AZ Jack]

I checked 4-6 hours, but it is much closer to 6. I'm sure I could get 8+ if I bumped the screen brightness down to 50%, but I just like running at 75% or so. What's the point of having such a beautiful bright display if it's not bright? But I know in a pinch, I could draw down the brightness and save battery. I would also add that battery life on mine appears to be improving. I'm not running a beta, just on 10.12.2, so no software changes to explain that. First time out of the box, I was worried as I only got about 4 hours, and now much closer to 6. No idea if that is just because things have settled down after a new install, my usage has changed, or perhaps a few cycles on the battery helps? Anyway, I'm good with it. I had pretty much decided to buy last year's model but when it came time to pull the trigger, couldn't bring myself to buy the older tech. Now that I did, I am really happy, for what it's worth.

13" tbMBP 16GB 3.3Ghz I7 500GB

 

[lilkangster]

I had horrible battery life the first week I got my machine around 4-6 hours but now I am getting around 8-10 hours of use. Not sure if updating to 10.12.3 beta had anything to do with it or if its just that spotlight has finished indexing everything but battery life has definitely improved.

 

[iKnowMr.Jobs]

My configured machine is in my sig. I've only had it for about a week and put 4 cycles on the battery and I'm getting at least 9 hours if I'm doing anything but watching hours of YouTube videos.

The screen is so bright even at 70%, it's eye bleeding. I keep it at somewhere between 40-48% and it's been fine. Obviously, you may need to turn it up a notch if you're using it at the beach, but that's a different story

 

[blairian89]

Your signature indicates that you have the 2.9 version also. Is the battery range similar?

I do have both the 13" model and the 15" model.

My 15" model is the 2.9/1TB/16GB/460 version. It does get the same range of battery life for me, but I will say that is HIGHLY dependent on use (more so than on the 13"). The 15" can draw a hell of a lot more power than the 13" does. If I'm just browsing the web, drafting papers and shooting off some e-mails here and there I can squeeze out between 12-15 hours on the 15".

I will say that this involves some battery management techniques; lower screen brightness, lower keyboard backlight brightness, Bluetooth off, etc. etc.

I can also drain the battery in less then 3 hours if I really want to; really depends on how you're using it and what you're using it for.