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

[KiwiAdventure]

Most of these replies sound like Democrat whiners. This is a simple laptop which charges the battery like it is on steroids.

I'm out of here

 

[NobodyOwens]

Well crap - now I'm torn. I generally do the opposite of what Consumer Reports recommends as I've had horrible experience with their recommendations in the past, but I had already passed on the new rMBP. Looks like I might have to reconsider it. As for the testing, the results from Consumer Reports seems very odd and I suspect that something is flawed in their testing methodology (unsurprising) as it just doesn't seem like someone would see such a drastic variation in battery life like that.

Flawed testing methodology? Is that a fancy way of saying the people at Consumer Reports cannot read the clock? Or that their stop watches provide inconsistent results? Because that's the only source of error here that could be qualified as flawed testing methodology. Anything else, no matter the brightness setting, tasks performed, etc. etc. is not flawed methodology, even if they're testing 3 different scenarios.

 

[allanfries]

Yep a major fail. Notebooks in this day and age should be lasting 10 hrs or better. Unacceptable.

 

[BvizioN]

I'm not asking for a corner full of ports of all kinds. Just asking for one - SD card slot. That's it. I'm not even complaining about all those thunderbolt dongles that they made me buy and are now obsolete. Or the missing headset port.

All I want is stupid SD card slot. And magsafe connector in case the dog accidentally catches the power cord on his leg.

I wasn't talking about you, but the general complain from people who say they spend "hundreds" on adapters! I just don't understand how many ports would a so called Pro needs on a laptop.
SD card slot on the other hand I though it was a bit silly to be removed but for me nothing I can not cope. I always have SD card reader on me anyway, so I just have to use that on my USB-A adapter. I miss more the charging light indicator then the magsafe itself. I charge my laptop on a desk through LG display and USB-C. Only 1 wire on my desk, that's it. This is one of the things I love about this.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

Can we stop calling this a "MBP Battery" issue?

Obviously some piece of sw is draining the battery.
Could be macOS, a driver or any 3rd app that simply behaves bad.

So far I'm not seeing this behaviour on my 15" MB Pro so the hw is obviously not the problem.

Edit: the report actually made quit clear that Safari is the killer. With Chrome "we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs.".

And you know it's software because? Enlighten us please. I don't see that anything has been proven here.

The only thing that is clear to me is that this battery has had issues since day 1. First the limitation on memory, now the limitation on what apps you use? PLEASE!

If Steve Jobs were alive, he'd be throwing furniture around the office right now and heads would roll.
Tim Cook is probably mildly flustered at most.

The criticisms are mounting on this release. You can attack the various messengers or you can solve the problem. The first option is the option of ultimately failed companies. Tim Cook better start watching his back AND fixing these problems.

 

[nathogib]

Oh boy now I'm even more nervous! Im waiting for my custom made order to arrive (any day now) and all i keep on reading is BAD BAD BAD.. I NEEDED a new Mac as I'm currently working off a 2009 iMac! .. but have I made the right decision?! .. time will tell.

 

[Trixs]

So wait, Chrome is finally battery friendly on macOS?

Seems to be doing OK for me. Not so much different from safari, though I haven't done a proper test

 

[actinide]

Same. I have a VM running constantly and get around 8-9. Depends what you're doing obviously. Heavy web browsing with lots of ads could drain it. Keeping loads of unoptomised apps running etc.

VM doesn't drain your battery. You get 8 to 9hrs? Gibberish. Two OSs running side by side.
If you lie, don't make it obvious.

 

[Mildredop]

Um, can't resist.
You reap what you sow.
It's an agricultural reference. Reaping is gathering the harvest while sowing is the planting of seeds.

From Galatians 6:7
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

King James Version (KJV)

And while I'm here - thinner is not better when it comes at the cost of functionality. Perhaps Jony Ive is overworked and needs to take a couple year sabbatical.

It was an attempt at sarcasm, something that never comes across on a forum.

 

[x130844]

Oh boy now I'm even more nervous! Im waiting for my custom made order to arrive (any day now) and all i keep on reading is BAD BAD BAD.. I NEEDED a new Mac as I'm currently working off a 2009 iMac! .. but have I made the right decision?! .. time will tell.

mine gets 9hours no prob... if yours has issues, rest smc and pram. if still bad, return it until you get a good one.

 

[Steve121178]

Yep a major fail. Notebooks in this day and age should be lasting 10 hrs or better. Unacceptable.

What about the thinness though! Think of the thinness!
[doublepost=1482486130][/doublepost]

After what, a month or so of using this new machine, I can say a few things:

1. It's the most unstable Mac I've used since the switch from PowerPC to Intel (and that Core 2 MacBook EVENTUALLY became stable as they got the software issues dealt with).

2. The battery life is not terrible but not great.

3. The Touch Bar has a LOT of issues still.

This design was rushed (the recent reporting indicates as such). I imagine some of the issues will go away in time as software issues are dealt with. It lacks the polish consistent with my MacBooks, MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs.

With all that said, I really, really like this machine. It's basically like a MacBook Pro Air (and for me, that's EXACTLY what I wanted). Most of the issues will be solved in time and even with its warts it's the right combination of speed, size, and awesome screen. Touch ID is more useful than the Touch Bar thus far. The mediocre battery life isn't a deal breaker for me, but there is no way I would recommend this machine to someone who honestly needs a lot of battery life.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up selling this machine and replacing it with the next revision though. I don't think it's going to end up being the four year machine I had hoped.

On the upside, I don't know how much thinner they can realistically make these machines. I mean, I realize it's possible but you can't get thinner than the USB-C ports themselves. I have a feeling the thin obsession is coming to an end because it... kinda has to.

So wait for v2.0 then unless you simply must have a new machine. Always the way with Apple. The first iteration is always a dud and should be avoided.

 

[canadianreader]

The funny thing is how a lot of people on here were clamoring for a new MacBook Pro, and now that Apple released one, a lot of people are clamoring for the old/"stale" MacBook Pro.

It's completely understandable though. And I think this reaction just sort of cements further the idea that this notebook wasn't particularly designed for the audiences of the 2012-2015 MBPs, that it's not really "Pro."

Yes people are not happy about this new MacBook Pro and some of them have been waiting for sometime to upgrade. In my view Apple has changed and we should begin to accept this fact.

 

[33man]

I guess apple's junior tester had connected an external powered display while doing battery tests

 

[diddl14]

Had they made it of normal, (2015ish) thickness they would have gotten like 43 hours, hence making your argument invalid.

AND held on to a firm minimum of like a proper 7 hours of normal computing stuff.

This obsession with thinness has to stop. Now. Enough.

I never claimed that they could'd get longer run times with a bigger battery. That's of course a no brainer. My argument stands if you are willing to read the report and try to understand the topic.

The Consumer Report article is not about SHORT battery life, it's about ERRATIC battery life.
Two totally different things.

Apple could have made the new Pro 5x thicker and claimed 10x more battery life.
All that doesn't help if some piece of software literally sucks life out of the battery due to some crappy coding.
What good is a bigger battery if 80% of the power gets wasted?

On thinness vs longer battery life I personally tend to go for thinness. I don't have a need to carry a week of battery charge around. If Apple fixes this sw issue and I get 8-10h, I'm perfectly fine with it. And thinner/ligher is a key driver for improving power efficiency which I see as a positive..

If you want a week of charge, you always have the choice to clue a huge battery pack to the bottom.
Pretty sure there will be aftermarket products soon for that..

 

[robeddie]

So your unscientific results trounce CR in-depth repeated scientific results, aaaall so they can make a name for themselves?

And consumer reports gives reviews of thousands of products each year ... but he actually thinks they're going to risk tainting their reputaiton by fudging reviews on a laptop that practically no one outside of macrumors gives a damn about.

Just goes to show you how myopic some of the fanboys on macrumors can be.

 

[Trixs]

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.

I really like that it is thinner. But I live on the road basically..

 

[wozmatic]

Answering as objectively as you can, how are you liking your XPS 15? It's a beautiful looking machine and I am definitely interested in it.

Objectively the machine itself and performance is by far the best laptop I've ever used. I've tried both the 4k and 1080p models and went with the 1080p because of battery, plus I can always output to 4k if needed.

The touchpad is the best touchpad on a windows machine I've ever used. Macbook is better.

The things I don't like is the carbon fiber gets greasy looking easily, and the tip of the ac adapter light is bright (but I'll put heat shrink on it)

Performance is great, I'm not a gamer but do graphic design and video/multimedia work, etc. It's fast.

I've been looking for a new laptop for a while so in my opinion it was the best option in the windows market, especially for the price.

$1750+tax CAD (1300 USD) i7 / 16GB / 512SSD / GTX 960M / 84 WHr

Lasts all day on balanced battery mode. Charges pretty quick too.
[doublepost=1482487713][/doublepost]

I really like that it is thinner. But I live on the road basically..

crucial to get that extra 3mm of space eh?

Of course it's personal preference but I can't see anyone with human hands being opposed to a laptop with the same thickness as the 2015 retina display model.

When it's getting even thinner it feels too fragile and it starts to become a negative feature.

 

[JGRE]

A product rushed to market. No surprise. They really dropped the ball on this. They may as well not released anything "new".

Rushed? It took them 1,5 year and still it sucks. Apple is no longer Apple it used to be!

 

[whirldy]

Possibly now, all the back-stock rMBPs will sell out? Possibly the Hegelian dialectic at its best!

 

[robeddie]

Or maybe a smaller battery.....

I can go from 4 hours to 9 hours by changing settings , new MacBook Pro only gets good battery if you run it with efficiency saving settings. Just playing with screen brightness has a major impact.

I've ran side by side comparisons between 2015 and 2016 doing CPU intensive tasks, and the smaller battery is the issue here, no magic software fix is going to put a larger battery in there.

And done. People can be in denial all they want but the battery in the supposedly 'pro' 15 macbook pro. 25% less battery than the 15 inch from 2015.

It's atonishing that any of the apple defenders on here are still trying to suggest it's becuase of chrome or this or that (seemingly forgetting that tons of people use chrome on the 2015 models and don't report these issues).

Apple chose form over function, end of story. Those proud appleheads may think they look cool in the starbucks with their apple watches and cripppled 2016 macbook pros - but most people look at them thinking - 'what a tool'.

 

[JGRE]

Good. Now learn something from this, Apple.

Be careful what you which for...... Tim might thing: mmh, more development time, less margin, update every 5 years. Oh yeah, lets have some more emoticons.

 

[The Mercurian]

Not thin enough ?

 

[JGRE]

Can we stop calling this a "MBP Battery" issue?

Obviously some piece of sw is draining the battery.
Could be macOS, a driver or any 3rd app that simply behaves bad.

So far I'm not seeing this behaviour on my 15" MB Pro so the hw is obviously not the problem.

Edit: the report actually made quit clear that Safari is the killer. With Chrome "we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs.".

Let's call it Battery-Gate.
[doublepost=1482488428][/doublepost]

And done. People can be in denial all they want but the battery in the supposedly 'pro' 15 macbook pro. 25% less battery than the 15 inch from 2015.

It's atonishing that any of the apple defenders on here are still trying to suggest it's becuase of chrome or this or that (seemingly forgetting that tons of people use chrome on the 2015 models and don't report these issues).

Apple chose form over function, end of story. Those proud appleheads may think they look cool in the starbucks with their apple watches and cripppled 2016 macbook pros - but most people look at them thinking - 'what a tool'.

"What a tool" or "what a fool"?

 

[Trixs]

crucial to get that extra 3mm of space eh?

Of course it's personal preference but I can't see anyone with human hands being opposed to a laptop with the same thickness as the 2015 retina display model.

When it's getting even thinner it feels too fragile and it starts to become a negative feature.

Nothing is crucial, we're not talking about life altering stuff here. 20% less volume (or whatever it was) + lower weight is nice in my backpack, though I wish it was even lighter to be honest..

Not sure what you mean with human hands. It's not like I hold my laptop while using it.. It's in my backpack that's full of other stuff where it's quite nice to have a smaller laptop.

It definitely doesn't feel fragile btw. I do understand though that you would like more battery life. Totally get that. For my usage it looks like 7-10 hours, which is fine.

 

[JGRE]

Objectively the machine itself and performance is by far the best laptop I've ever used. I've tried both the 4k and 1080p models and went with the 1080p because of battery, plus I can always output to 4k if needed.

The touchpad is the best touchpad on a windows machine I've ever used. Macbook is better.

The things I don't like is the carbon fiber gets greasy looking easily, and the tip of the ac adapter light is bright (but I'll put heat shrink on it)

Performance is great, I'm not a gamer but do graphic design and video/multimedia work, etc. It's fast.

I've been looking for a new laptop for a while so in my opinion it was the best option in the windows market, especially for the price.

$1750+tax CAD (1300 USD) i7 / 16GB / 512SSD / GTX 960M / 84 WHr

Lasts all day on balanced battery mode. Charges pretty quick too.
[doublepost=1482487713][/doublepost]

crucial to get that extra 3mm of space eh?

Of course it's personal preference but I can't see anyone with human hands being opposed to a laptop with the same thickness as the 2015 retina display model.

When it's getting even thinner it feels too fragile and it starts to become a negative feature.

I have a 2014 MBA and this is light and thin enough for traveling and working everywhere. There is no need for anything thinner, it is just madness.
[doublepost=1482488644][/doublepost]

I never claimed that they could'd get longer run times with a bigger battery. That's of course a no brainer. My argument stands if you are willing to ready the report and try to understand the topic.

The Consumer Report article is not about SHORT battery life, it's about ERRATIC battery life.
Two totally different things.

Apple could have made the new Pro 5x thicker and claimed 10x more battery life.
All that doesn't help if some piece of software literally sucks life out of the battery due to some crappy coding.
What good is a bigger battery if 80% of the power gets wasted?

On thinness vs longer battery life I personally tend to go for thinness. I don't have a need to carry a week of battery charge around. If Apple fixes this sw issue and I get 8-10h, I'm perfectly fine with it. And thinner/ligher is a key driver for improving power efficiency which I see as a positive..

If you want a week of charge, you always have the choice to clue a huge battery pack to the bottom.
Pretty sure there will be aftermarket products soon for that..

You'r joking, right?