Got a tip for us?
Let us know
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
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple should relearn that form FOLLOWS function.
the new MBP is indeed the Windows Vista of MacBook Pros.
the touch bar gimmick alone turned me off and then lack of standard USB ports, lack of HDMI,lack of SD card reader (all things that I use on daily basis..majority of people do..)..and the ridiculous price bump and battery issues..graphical glitch issues..un-necessary huge and cumbersome touchpad that gets in the way..lminimal hardware specs bumps..the list goes on.
I will never replace my 2014 Retina MBP that I bought in 2015 with these neutered,gimmck driven, over priced, that has so many bugs and technical issues.
sad.
the touch bar gimmick alone turned me off and then lack of standard USB ports, lack of HDMI,lack of SD card reader (all things that I use on daily basis..majority of people do..)..and the ridiculous price bump and battery issues..graphical glitch issues..un-necessary huge and cumbersome touchpad that gets in the way..lminimal hardware specs bumps..the list goes on.
I will never replace my 2014 Retina MBP that I bought in 2015 with these neutered,gimmck driven, over priced, that has so many bugs and technical issues.
sad.
I'm actually considering that. But it only got here yesterday, so I'll observe it for a few days.
I know his was due to the issues with the new battery design, but I hope it does something to wake Apple up. They need to stop putting the design team first, they seem extremely arrogant.
And I love the way they quoted Apples response
Well... After they've dissolved the dedicated macOS / mac team as well as the automation management (incl. long time veteran Sal Soghoian) - I better wish you luck.
From my own professional perspective I can truly say: today's Apple is not that Apple 10 years ago, which made me switch and convinced me to accept living under all those constraints of the "benevolent dictatorship".
Thankfully, not anymore.
Still a bit sad, though. Especially, if counting all my investments in their products during those years.
Ok. Sorry. I got sentimental and need to wrap up this optimistic post.
Cheers!
Last edited:
I wish I could take this statement and staple it to every single employees forehead at HQ..
I know the article is supposed to be critical, but 18 HOURS? Is that even possible?
Apple's 2016 MacBook Pro has failed to receive a purchase recommendation from Consumer Reports due to battery life issues that were encountered during testing. Battery life reportedly "varied dramatically" from one trial to another.
According to a new report that covers the new MacBook Pro, the machine is the first of Apple's MacBooks that has not received a Consumer Reports recommendation.
Consumer Reports says that a laptop's battery generally varies by less than five percent from test to test, but because of the "disparate figures" found in the MacBook Pro test, an average battery life consumers might expect to see could not be determined.
For that reason, Consumer Reports used the lowest battery score, which prevented the MacBook Pro from getting a recommendation. "Consumer Reports finds that all three MacBook Pro laptops fail to meet our standards for recommended models," reads the report.
Some customers who bought a 2016 MacBook Pro began complaining of ongoing battery life issues with the machine shortly after purchasing, which ultimately led Apple to remove the "Time Remaining" battery life estimate in the macOS Sierra 10.12.2 update.
While removing the indicator didn't fix battery life issues, some other tweaks may have been implemented at the same time, as there have been reports of better battery life following the update.
Apple claims that its own internal testing has seen the MacBook Pro performing up to the company's standards, providing up to 10 hours of battery life when watching iTunes movies or browsing the web.
Apple declined to provide a comment to Consumer Reports, but had this to say: "Any customer who has a question about their Mac or its operation should contact AppleCare."
Article Link: 2016 MacBook Pro Denied Recommendation From Consumer Reports Due to Battery Life inconsistencies
I hope Apple has learned from what happened to VW and their Diesel testing shenanigans.
Removing the battery time estimate recently doesn't instil a lot of confidence though.
MacBooks have had very stable battery performance for eons, I wonder what went wrong in the 2016 version.
It can't just be the 30% reduction, this is something in the OS. Shoulda stuck to "Mac OS X"
[doublepost=1482451957][/doublepost]
Idle and screen brightness at 1.
Aw, they must have received a pre-update MacBook, before Apple took out the OS's ability to tell you how mediocre your battery life really is
CR obviously doesn't know that this is the best MacBook Pro they have ever made....
I "Like"d your post until I read the last sentence.
You've gotta be high on some pretty strong stuff if you actually expect most Apple fans to be turned off by this. These are the same people who praised the removal of the headphone jack and praised the fact that we gotta walk around with a dongle spaghetti. Come on now...
I've been in UK Apple Stores a few times since the launch and people are ignoring these machines. They are so crazy expensive, especially if you do any BTO options, they are just not anything most people consider. I'm used to paying '£1299-1599' for my Pro Mac laptop and I'm struggling on with my 2011 as I just can't stomach the lack of upgradability on newer models. I'd need to spend over £3k to get a 1TB 15" machine - Dell can give me more than I need for £1500 but without MacOS.
Here's how Apple can save face:
In 2017 introduce the 'FatBook' without fanfare. Just needs to be the thickness of the last 2012 non-retina machine when you still had an easily upgradable drive and memory. Include magsafe, normal usb port and TB3. Make the base model really vanilla and a fair price but use BTO so people can make a 32TB 2TB, decent graphics card, road warrior/desktop replacement machine if they wish. Make the battery life killer.
Allow these flop machines to quietly go away like the Cube, merge their better elements with the next MacBook.
Here's how Apple can save face:
In 2017 introduce the 'FatBook' without fanfare. Just needs to be the thickness of the last 2012 non-retina machine when you still had an easily upgradable drive and memory. Include magsafe, normal usb port and TB3. Make the base model really vanilla and a fair price but use BTO so people can make a 32TB 2TB, decent graphics card, road warrior/desktop replacement machine if they wish. Make the battery life killer.
Allow these flop machines to quietly go away like the Cube, merge their better elements with the next MacBook.
Apparently it is.
The issue appears to be that the computer functions inconsistently when it is operated in a consistent manner.
Traditional expectations are that battery life will vary based on how your use increases or decreases the power consumption.
But, if you always use the computer in the exact same way, then power consumption should be consistent.
The testing model by consumer reports, is designed to be more consistent than any normal human use would be. And therefore, power consumption should be very consistent.
A variation range of 16 hours is huge. A variation range of an hour would get my attention. But a variation range of 10 to 16 hours is concerning.
The idea is that if my use is always X, then the Y variable of power consumed should always be the same. That is how we plan our use of mobile devices when we are traveling without access to electricity.
So you've had the laptop less than 24 hours and you've already determined you only get 3 hours of battery life? Indexing alone can take several days, along with initial battery conditioning. You're exactly the kind of person the media loves to hear from because they get someone who has no clue what they're doing and write a story about it. In 24 hours you should not be allowed to comment about battery life.
As soon as they made the Mac second fiddle, an afterthought, they screwed it up. Mac as an afterthought doesn't work. They'll have to have a dedicated team again, not just lend a few resources from the iOS side.
Consumer Reports is so dumb. Aren't they paying attention? Apple removed the battery life indicator, therefore Apple's battery life claims are now correct and not whatever made up figures that they found in "testing"—whatever that means. Some people are just too dense to understand.
It would have been better for Apple to respond by saying our testing does not produce the same results. But we will examine the data you've provided and attempt to replicate the results. If our findings match, we'll work to resolve the problem.
They did revise the antenna because of it. Consumer reports looks after the consumer. We need that to keep Apple from screwing us over. They're also independent.
But CR do have their faults, esp the vehicle division that used to be pretty corrupt in the 1980s.
Anyone who still relies on Consumer Reports for reliable input designed to assist in purchasing modern devices should probably consider trading in their diapers for free potty training lessons. This is the same company that gave high ratings to Samsung's subsequently-recalled grenade-phone. So whereas they apparently do have a problem with something they portray as a bad batch of Apple's allegedly inconsistent batteries, they don't seem to have a problem with exploding batteries that weaponize from time to time. Such hypocrisy exists somewhere between ridiculous and absurd. I bet if they tested Apple's batteries and Samsung's batteries by replacing their rectal thermometers with them for a few weeks, Apple's brand would win their unanimous approval and highest recommendation especially since they'd be looking for the charred remains of the other guys long after they've been declared the legal equivalent of burnt toast by their Consumer Reports recommended proctologists.
Good luck finding one in the refurb store - all sold out.
LOL. You deserve to waste your money. Don't be torn -- go buy it!! Hurry before they sell out
Apple Screwed up. I'm sure there are some software optimizations that can be done, but they should have delayed the launch until the sculpted battery was ready for release.