Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2016 MacBook Pro Denied Recommendation From Consumer Reports Due to Battery Life Inconsistencies

wow. these tests are just all over the place.

if it was just software issues, firstly i don't think it would have gotten this far without anyone mentioning "just do a clean install"

Usually it can be due to it, but these are some serious variations.. maybe consumer reports should try testing others machines known to not be an issue?
 
Sad to read about these problems with the 2016 MBP. Our family started buying MacBooks over a decade ago when my kids entered the laptop program at middle school. I was so impressed with those white poly-carbonate machines. They were easy to use and really took a beating in the students' backpacks. They were reliable too. Batteries could easily be replaced. The glowing Apple logo and the sleepy led light in the front gave the computer a bit of personality.

I still feel that way about my 2014 MBA, but I am kind of worried about the future. Apple needs to take better care of their early-adopter pro users. They also need to have an updated $1,000 entry level MacBook. Apple can't afford to lose customers on both book ends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NewtonAurelius and airbusking
Consumer Reports is kinda irrelevant these days, but the more companies make it known that Apple is messing up to the general public, the better. Apple needs a reality check on this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MarkB786
pratikindia said:
Why does Apple measures battery life of a Pro laptop with respect to iTunes movie watching and web browsing?
Click to expand...

On one hand, I think it helps compare apples to apples when looking at battery performance across all laptops - pro and consumer.

On the other hand, it reminds me of how they tout macOS Sierra on the MacBook Pro Tech Specs page with all consumer-oriented features:

macOS is the operating system that powers everything you do on a Mac. macOS Sierra introduces Siri to Mac4 — along with new ways to enjoy your photos, shop more securely online, and work more seamlessly between devices.
Click to expand...

Does macOS no longer have advertisable features that power users would actually care about? The only thing remotely close is the new APFS filesystem... which is still under development.
 
What is going on with Apple? If people don't think that Apple is in serious trouble then they better look again. They are going to start bleeding some serious money. They need focus and they need it now. I'm sorry to those who think otherwise but Tim Cook is not the man for the job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NewtonAurelius and MarkB786
Just bring iOS's feature "Low Power Mode" to these Mac's, that solves everything, then Apple will have the freedom to do and say what they want.
 
I just hope they didn't use Google Chrome as the test for this. That would be the source of any inconsistency.
[doublepost=1482466148][/doublepost]
Rookbird said:
What is going on with Apple? If people don't think that Apple is in serious trouble then they better look again. They are going to start bleeding some serious money. They need focus and they need it now. I'm sorry to those who think otherwise but Tim Cook is not the man for the job.
Click to expand...
I already put my money on it; sold all my AAPL stock (~1/3 of my portfolio) a while ago. AAPL has made gains since then, but not much better than S&P500, and I don't want to be holding AAPL if I don't believe in the company's direction anymore; it'll plunge some day if they continue this nonsense.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Someyoungguy, bigandtasty and MarkB786
Apple is known for quality products which is why they get away with premium prices. So the big question now is "Tim, what are you going to do about it?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: sudo1996
cerealthriller said:
Does macOS no longer have advertisable features that power users would actually care about? The only thing remotely close is the new APFS filesystem... which is still under development.
Click to expand...
Better SMB support, and that's it if I remember correctly. Meanwhile, Microsoft is adding pseudo Linux compatibility to Windows*. Sad times.

* Not saying that Windows is better than macOS, but it's improving while macOS isn't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PizzaBoxStyle
Aaplipad said:
I have my MacBook pro with TB 13" for 2.5 weeks now and absolutely love it. Upgraded from my MacBook Air. Smaller footprint, outstanding screen all in a smaller package. Since the latest OS upgrade I've noticed better battery life. I think its an innovative product and the TB is a cool feature. Sorry to hear that some are having issues. Really happy with mine.
Click to expand...

I have to say the same thing, although I've only had mine for a day and have yet to charge it. I've been migrating my data, installing apps, messing with terminal, web browsing and researching, transferring 65 GB from iCloud, loading up my mail accounts and compiling in Xcode. I started art 2:30 PM today at 88% battery (that's what it came with) and haven't plugged it in for more than 15 minutes. I'm now at 20% at 11:15 PM. So that's 9 hours or light use with the iCloud syncing, Photo Agent running (to download photos) and Spotlight indexing a way.

No, I do not expect to constantly get 10 hours of use for what I do and I don't see how any sane person would expect that when the lingo is "up to 10 hours". I would expect to get about 4-5 hours. I'm going to drain the battery and charge it up tonight and see how long we go tomorrow.
[doublepost=1482466677][/doublepost]
coolfactor said:
Yah, sorry Apple, but watching movies and browsing the web are generally not "Pro" activities. Inadequate benchmarks.
Click to expand...
That's how battery life is tested on all laptops. Apple to apple comparison. That's why it says "up to 10 hours". Anyone expecting to always hit or exceed that are daft.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GSDLVR123
jkichline said:
I have to say the same thing, although I've only had mine for a day and have yet to charge it. I've been migrating my data, installing apps, messing with terminal, web browsing and researching, transferring 65 GB from iCloud, loading up my mail accounts and compiling in Xcode. I started art 2:30 PM today at 88% battery (that's what it came with) and haven't plugged it in for more than 15 minutes. I'm now at 20% at 11:15 PM. So that's 9 hours or light use with the iCloud syncing, Photo Agent running (to download photos) and Spotlight indexing a way.

No, I do not expect to constantly get 10 hours of use for what I do and I don't see how any sane person would expect that when the lingo is "up to 10 hours". I would expect to get about 4-5 hours. I'm going to drain the battery and charge it up tonight and see how long we go tomorrow.
Click to expand...

You are so very correct. Just buy a battery car and you'll find the battery range can be 45% less. BMW says my new plugin has a battery range up to 41ks but it has been as low as 27ks.
 
As much as I love the design team first philosophy. One that Steve Jobs yelled home about (they made some cool stuff when pushed to meet a design). Once it starts to compromise the use of the machine then logic should prevail.

I still have a 2011 MacBook Pro. If I had to upgrade today I'd be looking at refurbished last gen :/
 
  • Like
Reactions: NewtonAurelius
Apple will probably face a class action lawsuit regarding the battery life. Each new MBP owner will probably get a $5 iTunes card out of this.
 
Jessica08 said:
IMG_0331_zpsb0gyeg64.jpg


Ask and you shall receive... (I didn't bother looking at all the pages to see if someone had already obliged ya and technically this is a meme not a gif)
Click to expand...

A meme is good enough! Thank you. :)
 
Mac37122 said:
Like many have said, I don't need the thinnest, lightest laptop. I want something with performance and power and good battery life. If that requires 4 more ounces, please add it on.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And Apple used to have different products to appeal to different users.

Macbook Air: thin and light... but still rather powerful with an available dual-core i7.

Macbook Pro: a littler thicker and heavier... but with even more power and capability.

But that's all gone now.

Now it's the new Macbook which is the thin and light model... yet its processors aren't very powerful compared to the old Macbook Air.

And then there's the new Macbook Pro which has its capability neutered by the excessive thinness. The old Macbook Pro didn't have these problems.

There has never been a "perfect" Mac laptop... but you could get close before.

Now it's very difficult to find what you're looking for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HVDynamo, MH01, NewtonAurelius and 2 others
Its never going to be cheaper to buy a new MacBook just wait until Trump becomes President and puts tax on imports. It is only a laptop some of you talk like it's an expensive car. I sold my 2013 MacBook Air for $1000 this week and sold my iPhone 5s for $250. Apple Care will look after me if a problem develops and has done for years. I pay for service and enjoy the experience with Apple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GSDLVR123
junkstory said:
The irony is that not a single person on this planet complained the 2015 was too thick. I haven't met anybody online or offline who said they wished it was thinner. Yet they trimmed it down along with the battery.
Click to expand...

I would dispute that... I know a lot of people that felt the MBP was too big and heavy and endlessly dreamed of a 13/15" MBA with Retina screen. They mostly had MBAs they just wanted the same thing w/ Retina and wouldn't go to a bigger heavier MBA to do it... a bunch went to MB12s. So, lots of people I know like smaller. Now, would any of them felt good about < 8 hours of battery life to get that, no they wouldn't.

According to rumors Apple planned on a different, and presumably higher capacity battery: https://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/20/larger-battery-gold-color-macbook-pro/

It would not surprise me if that new battery design would have hit 12 hours... and that when it wouldn't work they did everything the could to hold the current MBPs battery times.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacSimpson
VMMan said:
Apple will probably face a class action lawsuit regarding the battery life. Each new MBP owner will probably get a $5 iTunes card out of this.
Click to expand...

Or the new Apple picture book. It would probably cost them less than $5 to give away the excess unsold copies of said book. And it would enable them to say we've moved X number of our books.

Might make it the highest shipping book of 2016.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Menneisyys2
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back