Specifically on the 2015 12in Retina Macbook. I'm just hoping it helps a bit overall, even with Siri and all the new features.
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How has Sierra affected battery life?
- Thread starter Zach Nathan
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Not talking about 12-inch Retina MacBook here, but I think the actual effect should not differ too much. My 13-inch MacBook Pro from early 2015 definitely has been having 'not so good' battery life. Where I would've been able to go through a whole day without a charger (didn't even have to bring one with me before macOS Sierra beta), I now have bring one every day. But as long as it only happens with the beta, I'm fine with that loss.
Anyway, I expect the 12-inch MacBook to see a loss in battery life too during the beta period. You should however note that it differs from person to person. For example, until iOS 10 I never had battery issues when running a major iOS beta on my iPhone. But I know many others did have issues with their battery life. Not everyone has the same results, important to be aware of.
Anyway, I expect the 12-inch MacBook to see a loss in battery life too during the beta period. You should however note that it differs from person to person. For example, until iOS 10 I never had battery issues when running a major iOS beta on my iPhone. But I know many others did have issues with their battery life. Not everyone has the same results, important to be aware of.
Thanks for the input. As an owner of the same rMBP model I guess I'll either wait for the full release or at least a later beta, since I don't want to risk my battery life or app-compatibility.
Also, I know this is a bit off-topic, but has the start-up time been improved? Thanks in advance
Start-up time is around the same, but the screens does flash upon booting (at half of loading bar). Bit small issue, nothing serious though.
Alright, well, as long as it isn't longer I won't complain. Thanks again for the input
I just installed Sierra Beta 2 on my Early 2011 MBP 2GHz i7 and the first thing I noticed is that the discrete video card is in use at all times and it never switches to the integrated one. This will definitely affect battery life.
All i have open is Safari and activity monitor and HD indexing is done (all SSD here). Instead of 5-6hrs of battery, my 6160mAh battery indicates about 4.5 hours remaining (nearly a full charge).
If there is a way to for integrated video, that might reduce battery usage, but perhaps Siri or something else needs the discrete video.
Does anyone know if Sierra requires discrete video? As my MBP ages, battery life may become more important than having the latest OS (especially since this machine continues to do everything else I need).
All i have open is Safari and activity monitor and HD indexing is done (all SSD here). Instead of 5-6hrs of battery, my 6160mAh battery indicates about 4.5 hours remaining (nearly a full charge).
If there is a way to for integrated video, that might reduce battery usage, but perhaps Siri or something else needs the discrete video.
Does anyone know if Sierra requires discrete video? As my MBP ages, battery life may become more important than having the latest OS (especially since this machine continues to do everything else I need).
The battery life on my early 2015 rMBP is noticeably shorter. I am considering going back to El Capitan. I am doing nothing resource intensive. Mainly just surfing the web and almost no videos. 3 tabs open on Safari.
I think this is normal when it comes to betas, right?
I hope this OS to be as power efficient as El Capitan, although best batterylife I've experienced was with Mavericks -for me, the best OS X-.
I hope this OS to be as power efficient as El Capitan, although best batterylife I've experienced was with Mavericks -for me, the best OS X-.
Battery life on my rMBP 2015 13" seemed to improve with the first DP, but since installing the 3rd has been abysmal. PhotosAgent is frequently showing as consuming lots of energy although no photos are actively being synced via iCloud or anything. I am getting about 3-4 hours vs the 6-8 I used to get.
terrible here too (even for a beta, in my experience). have 2:41 left (where, at this time, would usually show at least twice that)...
The weirdest thing to me is it does seem to be adhering to the estimates shown in the menu bar icon, and those estimates are ALL over the place, even when I am primarily using the same 3 apps all the time (Mail, a few Safari tabs, and Messages)
For instance, yesterday at 99% charge I had 4:23 time remaining. And it did in fact die within that time. Now, I've been running the MacBook for about 2 hours, at 92% charge and 9:45 remaining. It would appear that if I stay on this trajectory it could last me well in to the night. Can't make any rhyme or reason of it at all.
For instance, yesterday at 99% charge I had 4:23 time remaining. And it did in fact die within that time. Now, I've been running the MacBook for about 2 hours, at 92% charge and 9:45 remaining. It would appear that if I stay on this trajectory it could last me well in to the night. Can't make any rhyme or reason of it at all.
good observation. my own experience is similar. after my post (just above this one), my time remaining changed several times; got much better (and also, somewhat worse...)
I don't have any numbers, but it feels like my rMBP 2012 battery doesn't last as long, & it seems to run hot for no reason sometimes.
I installed the GM and the integrated video is STILL not being used, even for nothing (finder).
This kind of blows. The video card in use alone burns through my battery.
So much for Apple optimizing it before final release. Either it requires a good video card or I have to wait until 10.12.1+ for a fix.
Update: I booted into the Guest User account just to see what happens with a clean account. I fired up gfxStatus and the moment it launched, the MBP switched to the discrete video card. Hmmm. Maybe it's the problem? I killed it, then checked the status using About This Mac --> Displays. Intel Integrated Video. Launched Safari and as soon as Apple.com opened, it switched to discrete. Killed it and it switched back.
Thinking I found the problem (gfxStatus), I went to my normal account. I can't get it to switch back, even after killing it. I have to play a little to see if I can get normal switching to work. It IS still selected to switch in the Settings.
Update2: Activity Monitor can tell you which apps require a high performance card and it turns out it has flagged my ancient battery monitoring app, XBattery, as the culprit. I killed it and the card switched to Intel.
So check there. I'm back to looking at overall battery life now.
This kind of blows. The video card in use alone burns through my battery.
So much for Apple optimizing it before final release. Either it requires a good video card or I have to wait until 10.12.1+ for a fix.
Update: I booted into the Guest User account just to see what happens with a clean account. I fired up gfxStatus and the moment it launched, the MBP switched to the discrete video card. Hmmm. Maybe it's the problem? I killed it, then checked the status using About This Mac --> Displays. Intel Integrated Video. Launched Safari and as soon as Apple.com opened, it switched to discrete. Killed it and it switched back.
Thinking I found the problem (gfxStatus), I went to my normal account. I can't get it to switch back, even after killing it. I have to play a little to see if I can get normal switching to work. It IS still selected to switch in the Settings.
Update2: Activity Monitor can tell you which apps require a high performance card and it turns out it has flagged my ancient battery monitoring app, XBattery, as the culprit. I killed it and the card switched to Intel.
So check there. I'm back to looking at overall battery life now.
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