MacBook pro TB battery: dilemma (post stats here)

[iasix]

Dear all,

I had the nTB MacBook Pro and loved it. Loved the keyboard, loved the battery (13+ hours on my average use!) and everything about it.
I initially wanted the TB version, but due to bad battery life reports I decided to go for the nTB.
After the macOS Sierra update, I read that the battery life improved so I sold it and bought a TB version (lost some money on that but ah well).

I don't need the full 10 hours. I need about 7. I am a PhD candidate and am in the operating theatre a lot and I prefer to just take my MB with me without also having to take the charger with me (on some days I am there for like 7 hours).

Now, I don't know what to do. I have this TB 13" now (I don't want the 15 because of portability) and it's giving me round and about six.

All I use is e-mail, word, Safari, messages, sometimes iTunes (Apple Music).
I really really love the TB and I love this machine, everything about it, but I can't work with about six hours. I would've waited for the next version but my old MBP broke so I actually need one.

Should I really get the nTB again?

Some say I have a faulty battery, but I don't believe so to be honest. Therefore, could you please help me and post your TB battery stats? I just started logging this so I can actually objectively quantify my use and not have it based on my own 'measurements'.

I'll update this topic with my Battery Logger stats and hope you're willing to help me by doing the same.

Best,
MV

 

[Kjung7]

You definitely don't need the power of the 15 inch and battery life will be worse on the 15 inch due to its dedicated GPU. If you can do without the TB then I'd return it. You have to decide if battery life is more important. Apple will release more updates so battery life may improve.

 

[iasix]

You definitely don't need the power of the 15 inch and battery life will be worse on the 15 inch due to its dedicated GPU. If you can do without the TB then I'd return it. You have to decide if battery life is more important. Apple will release more updates so battery life may improve.

Thanks for your contribution.

I really like the touch bar. The problem is, I can't reasonably estimate if:
1. It's my MB that's faulty
2. It's likely that Apple will come up with a new version of the TB MBP anytime soon
3. It's likely that Apple will come up with a software update that will make my TB MBP last for 7 hours.

I hope to be able to have a good estimation of point 1 by seeing other people's stats.

 

[Leaf.]

Thanks for your contribution.

I really like the touch bar. The problem is, I can't reasonably estimate if:
1. It's my MB that's faulty
2. It's likely that Apple will come up with a new version of the TB MBP anytime soon
3. It's likely that Apple will come up with a software update that will make my TB MBP last for 7 hours.

I hope to be able to have a good estimation of point 1 by seeing other people's stats.

I think point 3 is VERY likley. I think 1 is very unlikley since, even I have the problem and assume its software related

 

[JohnnyGo]

My 13" base TB model usually lasts from 8-10h without a problem with my regular workload (which most people will characterize as light)

Mail / Safari / Notes and one or two productivity/office apps (Keynote, excel, Word, PowerPoint). Dropbox and iCloud syncing running on the background.

Did a test with Netflix streaming in HD and got 7 ½ hours of use.

New updates for macOS and other apps will certainly bring even better battery life.

 

[hululu]

Dear all,

I had the nTB MacBook Pro and loved it. Loved the keyboard, loved the battery (13+ hours on my average use!) and everything about it.
I initially wanted the TB version, but due to bad battery life reports I decided to go for the nTB.
After the macOS Sierra update, I read that the battery life improved so I sold it and bought a TB version (lost some money on that but ah well).

I don't need the full 10 hours. I need about 7. I am a PhD candidate and am in the operating theatre a lot and I prefer to just take my MB with me without also having to take the charger with me (on some days I am there for like 7 hours).

Now, I don't know what to do. I have this TB 13" now (I don't want the 15 because of portability) and it's giving me round and about six.

All I use is e-mail, word, Safari, messages, sometimes iTunes (Apple Music).
I really really love the TB and I love this machine, everything about it, but I can't work with about six hours. I would've waited for the next version but my old MBP broke so I actually need one.

Should I really get the nTB again?

Some say I have a faulty battery, but I don't believe so to be honest. Therefore, could you please help me and post your TB battery stats? I just started logging this so I can actually objectively quantify my use and not have it based on my own 'measurements'.

I'll update this topic with my Battery Logger stats and hope you're willing to help me by doing the same.

Best,
MV

Same usage as you, same battery life.

So no, your mac is not faulty.


Hope for a fix and wait, take the chance of being stuck with it though

Im thinking about going ntb too. Long term in worried about the slower cpu. 2 ports only, and wonder how it goes with heat since its not the same ventilation system...

 

[iasix]

Same usage as you, same battery life.

So no, your mac is not faulty.


Hope for a fix and wait, take the chance of being stuck with it though

Im thinking about going ntb too. Long term in worried about the slower cpu. 2 ports only, and wonder how it goes with heat since its not the same ventilation system...

5.5 hours today.
I'm not even worried about the CPU etc - I don't have 'heavy' apps that I run. Will just miss the TB that's all.

 

[hululu]

5.5 hours today.
I'm not even worried about the CPU etc - I don't have 'heavy' apps that I run. Will just miss the TB that's all.

so are you gonna trade it?

 

[Trixs]

13+ on your previous nTB is pretty impressive. Don't think I can hit that on mine. I can't get more than 10 if I'm doing really light stuff. Which is fine for me, but still

 

[iasix]

so are you gonna trade it?

Really not sure yet.
Typing this from my tbMBP..

..on a charger

 

[Agmnu]

Really not sure yet.
Typing this from my tbMBP..

..on a charger

Just for testing purposes, may be put the touch bar to static (control strip always) and see whether that gives better battery life. I am not sure whether there is a way to disable it altogether.
This is just to troubleshoot where the problem might be. May be the touch bar energy usage is not optimized yet.
I have 13" tb model, but I have no complaints. My scenario is a bit different since at work my laptop charges through the LG display. I have never had to charge it at home yet, but I do not use it for 8 hours at home.
Also, for the first day the battery was being consumed by 'Photos Agent'. You can check which apps are consuming energy on average.

 

[Mercman1]

My 13" base TB model usually lasts from 8-10h without a problem with my regular workload (which most people will characterize as light)

Mail / Safari / Notes and one or two productivity/office apps (Keynote, excel, Word, PowerPoint). Dropbox and iCloud syncing running on the background.

Did a test with Netflix streaming in HD and got 7 ½ hours of use.

New updates for macOS and other apps will certainly bring even better battery life.

Mine is performing like this too. Right now I am doing a large 20 GB sync to onedrive, editing excel and powerpoint and lots of email and web browsing, Itunes streaming music in the background....and I have a lousy wi-fi connection in a hotel with a VPN running. Touchbar is always on as I am constantly typing. Screen is at about 60%. Used 15% of battery used in 1:45. Time left in Activity Monitor is showing 5:45. So this would be 8.5 hours or so if I ran it dry. This is completely equivalent to my 2015 rMBP 13" with i7, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD.

 

[Maurier]

Mine is performing like this too. Right now I am doing a large 20 GB sync to onedrive, editing excel and powerpoint and lots of email and web browsing, Itunes streaming music in the background....and I have a lousy wi-fi connection in a hotel with a VPN running. Touchbar is always on as I am constantly typing. Screen is at about 60%. Used 15% of battery used in 1:45. Time left in Activity Monitor is showing 5:45. So this would be 8.5 hours or so if I ran it dry. This is completely equivalent to my 2015 rMBP 13" with i7, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD.

I think most have the brightness level at over 70%.
This could explain why some are getting 4 hours and others 8 to 10 hours.
The screen on this new laptops is a lot brighter then previous gen.

 

[BenTrovato]

I think most have the brightness level at over 70%.
This could explain why some are getting 4 hours and others 8 to 10 hours.
The screen on this new laptops is a lot brighter then previous gen.

When I first got mine I felt I had to run the brightness higher than my old MBP. It took me a few weeks to get used to screen but now I can run it lower than 70% and can get nearly 10 hours if I'm just doing emails or writing.

 

[Falcon80]

If you value battery life that much, you should go back to the NTB version. Battery life will definitely continue deteriorate with usage and if a new one already cannot satisfy your requirement, I believe you will be worse off 1 year down the road.

 

[biosci]

I am an 1:22 in my work session today (Web apps chrome/safari but still basic vs complex sites) and am at 70% Not happy about that...

13" BTO TB MBP

 

[Kjung7]

I am an 1:22 in my work session today (Web apps chrome/safari but still basic vs complex sites) and am at 70% Not happy about that...

13" BTO TB MBP

What's your screen brightness at?

 

[biosci]

What's your screen brightness at?

I've been running it this morning at about 50%

https://cl.ly/0m2x441o3L02 (Image of touchbar brightness)

 

[kwandrews]

Dear all,

I had the nTB MacBook Pro and loved it. Loved the keyboard, loved the battery (13+ hours on my average use!) and everything about it.
I initially wanted the TB version, but due to bad battery life reports I decided to go for the nTB.
After the macOS Sierra update, I read that the battery life improved so I sold it and bought a TB version (lost some money on that but ah well).

I don't need the full 10 hours. I need about 7. I am a PhD candidate and am in the operating theatre a lot and I prefer to just take my MB with me without also having to take the charger with me (on some days I am there for like 7 hours).

Now, I don't know what to do. I have this TB 13" now (I don't want the 15 because of portability) and it's giving me round and about six.

All I use is e-mail, word, Safari, messages, sometimes iTunes (Apple Music).
I really really love the TB and I love this machine, everything about it, but I can't work with about six hours. I would've waited for the next version but my old MBP broke so I actually need one.

Should I really get the nTB again?

Some say I have a faulty battery, but I don't believe so to be honest. Therefore, could you please help me and post your TB battery stats? I just started logging this so I can actually objectively quantify my use and not have it based on my own 'measurements'.

I'll update this topic with my Battery Logger stats and hope you're willing to help me by doing the same.

Best,
MV

I would keep the 13" if you are getting 6 hrs. I have improved to 7-9 ad sometimes 10 with a clean install (wipe and install from a fresh copy on a USB drive). 10.12.2 has improved it as well. You can always get an external battery pack as well (I have the Anker 20100 USB-C) and it will power it / keep it from draining. No long cables to outlets if you need more time and it's easily portable. Just an idea.

 

[iasix]

I would keep the 13" if you are getting 6 hrs. I have improved to 7-9 ad sometimes 10 with a clean install (wipe and install from a fresh copy on a USB drive). 10.12.2 has improved it as well. You can always get an external battery pack as well (I have the Anker 20100 USB-C) and it will power it / keep it from draining. No long cables to outlets if you need more time and it's easily portable. Just an idea.

Will the Anker 20100 USB-C really charge my MBP?

That would solve all my issues!

 

[Kjung7]

Will the Anker 20100 USB-C really charge my MBP?

That would solve all my issues!

Just make sure the amperes is high enough to charge your MBP. If it's too low then you may find the battery pack is unable to charge your computer while you're using it.

 

[kwandrews]

Will the Anker 20100 USB-C really charge my MBP?

That would solve all my issues!

This is it, the + version: https://www.anker.com/products/A1371012
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerC...F8&qid=1483032563&sr=1-3&keywords=anker+20100

Now, it will charge a 12" MacBook like the external charger. On my 13" MBP, it supplements the power VERY well. It will SLOW the discharge rate of your MBP (while in use) and give you extra hours of use time. When turned off, it will charge the MBP, but slower than the wall charger. I'll use it again later today and test it out. The thing I like about it is that it also has USB-A ports to charge an iPhone or iPad as well. One charger to take care of it all for me on the go.

One thing to note is the following: "....please plug the USB-C cable into the external battery port, and then press the power button to begin charging. Otherwise, the PowerCore+ 20100 will draw current from the Macbook 12-inch instead." The button on the Anker turns on the discharge TO the MacBook. If you plug it without pushing the button, it will DRAW power to recharge itself since USB-C can go both ways with charging.

 

[iasix]

This is it, the + version: https://www.anker.com/products/A1371012
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerC...F8&qid=1483032563&sr=1-3&keywords=anker+20100

Now, it will charge a 12" MacBook like the external charger. On my 13" MBP, it supplements the power VERY well. It will SLOW the discharge rate of your MBP (while in use) and give you extra hours of use time. When turned off, it will charge the MBP, but slower than the wall charger. I'll use it again later today and test it out. The thing I like about it is that it also has USB-A ports to charge an iPhone or iPad as well. One charger to take care of it all for me on the go.

One thing to note is the following: "....please plug the USB-C cable into the external battery port, and then press the power button to begin charging. Otherwise, the PowerCore+ 20100 will draw current from the Macbook 12-inch instead." The button on the Anker turns on the discharge TO the MacBook. If you plug it without pushing the button, it will DRAW power to recharge itself since USB-C can go both ways with charging.

Thanks so much! That's amazing!

I'll wait for your test of today to see if it will charge it when the MBP is closed and how long it'll take to charge.
If it works, I'm ordering one!

Thanks again!

 

[kwandrews]

Thanks so much! That's amazing!

I'll wait for your test of today to see if it will charge it when the MBP is closed and how long it'll take to charge.
If it works, I'm ordering one!

Thanks again!

I don't have time to test it today, but I did just plug it in. Per the Mac's system report, it was connected and sending 15W power to the MBP. So 25% of the included 60w charger. I would say, when off it would take 4x longer to get to 100%. In my actual use, I've noticed only a few % drop in battery per hour until the Anker is depleted. I'll try it more later. I bought it for my 12" MacBook and it's great there.

 

[iasix]

Perfect! Not in a hurry, I'll wait.

Thanks for this, I really appreciate it.