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Apple Releases macOS Catalina 10.15.5 With Battery Health Management Features, Fix for Finder Freezing

Skipping Catalina completely.

Mojave works fine.

Poor quality control and loss of capability with Catalina.

Then we will start all over again with its successor.

The days of one a year updates was a bad idea and should cease.
 
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acidblood said:
Yes, it is plugged in most of the time. If I purposefully ran it on battery when a charger was available, batteries would last only 2 years or maybe even less. Batteries last only for a given, although highly variable, number of cycles (keeping the battery half-full does increase the number of discharge cycles before the battery dies, as well as some other measures such as avoiding hot temperatures, slow charging, etc.), so putting on extra cycles aiming to make the battery last longer will have the opposite of the intended effect.

Unless your computer is a toy which you use only once a week, then you can unplug it during your weekly use session and leave the battery half-full, not plugged in to power, until next week; unfortunately mine needs to be used every day. Good thing this is easily remedied by the battery management feature which is unfortunately quite a few years too late (BTW, this feature existed in the PC space, at least for certain manufacturers, for many years).

12 V car batteries are lead-acid, about the only thing in common with a Li-Ion battery is that they're both called a battery. There's simply no way they can last long given the chemistry and the load profile (cranking up an engine is about the worst load you could conjure up for a battery). This is a fact, and before you ask, I won't bother digging up "The Science", I have read up on it and I know that it is out there for those who bother to look it up.

A better comparison is to EV batteries: would you buy an EV if its batteries only lasted for 5 years? Don't tell me there is a difference between EVs and MacBook Pros, the only difference is that EV automakers were forced to think about battery lifespan management from the start, exactly because the market wouldn't take too kindly to 5-year battery replacements. The minute Apple switched to internal, non-user-replaceable batteries, they should have done the same if they really cared about their users (especially since a 7-year old computer is considered vintage and will be refused service at Apple stores or AASPs, leaving you to use Chinese junk of dubious precedence, which may explode and set you/your house on fire.)
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My computers are definitely not toys and have served me well during multiple decades in the IT industry. Pismo, Cube, TiBook, PowerMac G4 and iMac's; Mac laptops and Mini's since the Intel era began.

In terms of battery run time, a days work on a single charge for iPhones and Mac laptops hasn't been a problem for my usage patterns. Beyond charging on a less frequent (and not overnight basis) I also avoid running garbage like the Chrome browser and other resource sapping (or extraneous) apps or (any) browser plug-in's.

The point I was driving at regarding your battery woes was expectation... 5+ years for a battery you depend on daily (car or computer) is not so bad. Anything beyond that is gravy in my opinion.

We've heard for years Li-Ion batteries have no memory and you can do whatever to them with no concerns. I beg to differ as there are different strategies related to charging and long term usage that can extend battery life (hence part of the reason Apple is finally jumping on the bandwagon). HP and other Windows laptop manufacturers addressed power management years ago. Apple didn't bother for some reason- who knows.

In the grand scheme of things battery runtime hasn't had a major impact on the systems I've purchased. I've replaced a few batteries in MacBook's and other systems too (HP and IBM). Haven't thrown the baby out with the bath water on any hardware platform. Considering how compact and powerful devices have become, it is not surprising that many are not user replaceable and I don't mind having to pay to have the manufacturer or an authorized 3rd party do it if needed.
 
Well, i really hope this 10.15.5 update resolves a LOT of the issues i've been having.

I'm so regretefull of having upgraded to Catalina in the beginning of May 2020 (this month). After all this months since the launch of Catalina, and the previous 4th versions updates, i’m still plagued by bugs like sleeping issues (i've been trying to resolve it for 2 weeks ... my computer sometimes reboot during sleep), no notifications for new messages on Mail when using one of my exchange accounts, etc. The list goes on.

I've been a everyday Mac user since 2003-2004, i spend all day on my Macbook Pro and work on a regular basis on lot of things on it (login to servers, a lot of word / powerpoint, web dev, docker, using oracle tools, VM's) ... i'm an analytics & big data guy and i've been happy with the ecosystem until very recently. I paid more for the Mac HW and iOS stuff, but it was just better.

I'm very sorry but i'm getting a real urge to get back to Win ecosystem (which i still use on regular basis on my gaming machine). Maybe a nice Surface Book 3 .... and even thinking about selling the iPad Pro .... shame Apple ... software quality matters to some of us.

Let's not even get into the prices absurdity of the Macbook Pro in Europe and specially in Portugal (where i leave). The ecosystem additional price is just not making sense these days due to software missing features, quality, etc.

I'm very sad to conclude this, but the general poor quality / bugs in OSX and the price difference of the hardware is just not computing to me.

Only if Apple would allowed me to run "laptop" software on my iPadOS (like JAVA apps, etc.) ... but that will never happen. ever.
 
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jgbr said:
Skipping Catalina completely.

Mojave works fine.

Poor quality control and loss of capability with Catalina.

Then we will start all over again with its successor.

The days of one a year updates was a bad idea and should cease.
Click to expand...

Wise choice- Mojave works quite well... I'm running that on a 2012 MBP 15". If I had the choice on 2020 MBA or MBP, I'd run it there as well but there is no way to reinstall anything other than Catalina on 2020 gear due to new hardware, etc.

There is definitely some funky stuff going on under the hood with Catalina in ways that appear to lock more things down in a new and potentially painful way including component serialization in a way that renders replacement parts unusable.

I have the same thought about T2 security that has been around for a few years now. If it is not disabled, the chance of recovering data from a system that refuses to boot is slim at best. Overall I haven't had stability issues with Catalina on a 2017 12" MacBook (a few weeks after launch), MBA and MBP and sure hope that continues. I backup my systems on a regular basis just in case...
 
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acidblood said:
A better comparison is to EV batteries: would you buy an EV if its batteries only lasted for 5 years? Don't tell me there is a difference between EVs and MacBook Pros, the only difference is that EV automakers were forced to think about battery lifespan management from the start, exactly because the market wouldn't take too kindly to 5-year battery replacements.
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That's a good point. For doubters who worry about Apple's motives in adding battery management, check out this article at Battery University, which describes how EV makers do things. My hybrid car, for instance, only charges to 80%, because it prolongs battery life by doing that. It's why they can give the battery an 11-year warranty. After a ton of research that's the target that Toyota have for this specific use case. Likewise, you will get a longer life out of your MacBook if battery charging is managed.
 
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adrianlondon said:
Gosh. Where do you live? I replaced the battery in my 15" retina MBP a year or so ago and it cost €190 (200 CHF) which included replacing the casing. This was in the Apple store. As the laptop was a few years old, getting a new trackpad and keyboard in the price (no choice, admittedly) was very welcome.
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Same. 2015 MBP Retina. New case, new battery. Better than having to get a new model without MagSafe connector.
 
TonyM42 said:
Same. 2015 MBP Retina. New case, new battery. Better than having to get a new model without MagSafe connector.
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I ended up getting a new model anyway, as a few months ago I closed the lid firmly with a pen inside and cracked the screen! It's currnetly used as a media server connected to my TV while I use my new Air.
 
Detnator said:
Exactly. How the hell do all the complainers and conspiracy theorists not understand this?

These are supposed to be PORTABLE machines. Today’s 16” MBP is more portable than the 12” PowerBook and almost half the size and weight of the last 15” laptop that had a removable battery. And hundreds of times more powerful.
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Don't forget the heat. I used to put a cutting board from my kitchen on my lap to keep my black MacBook from burning my legs. Now I take notice if my MacBook Air happens to start feeling slightly warm to the touch.
 
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Arctic Moose said:
I have been putting off upgrading to Catalina due to the Mail issues that were reported after release. Can anyone confirm that it is now safe to upgrade from a Mail perspective?

I saw no reason to upgrade until shared iCloud Drive folders were available, but now that they are I’d like to do so, but absolutely not at the potential expense of risk to my 25 years of mail archives.
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Simple solution, one word...."Backup"
 
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fbr$ said:
I use my MacBook, iPad and iPhone plugged in when I can, which is most time, in past months is all day long.

My iPhone 8 Plus, purchased 16 months ago, has "Maximum Capacity 99%", so I really don't care about Battery Health Management, I disable it.
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I just upgraded my 8 Plus (to iPhone 11) and after 24 months of use I was at 88%. If you plan to keep your phone a while longer, you might want to rethink your option.
 
edubfromktown said:
The point I was driving at regarding your battery woes was expectation... 5+ years for a battery you depend on daily (car or computer) is not so bad. Anything beyond that is gravy in my opinion.
Click to expand...

You may be satisfied with a 5 year lifespan for your battery. I, on the other hand, have done the research and know that a battery can last much longer than that with proper battery management, far beyond the 1.000 cycles claimed by Apple. Twice that is easily achievable, and 5.000 is certainly possible if you prevent the battery from being exposed to high temperatures. Possibly even more if Apple would restrict the charging current to the battery, which is perfectly fine when it is left to charge overnight.

Again, go ask any EV owner if they would have bought one, if they were told they had to replace the single most expensive part on their car every 5 years. Yeah, some eco-nuts might, but anyone who buys things for their value and not to make a statement wouldn't.
 
Currently running MBP mid-2010 with High Sierra. Planning to upgrade to MBP 16 (base model).

Is it real disaster? As I understand, it's better to wait for stability with new Catalina before any purchases?
 
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