Suddenly replacing the battery in my mid 2012 MacBook Air looks like a much better option than spending $1,800 for blown speakers, graphics issues, a loss of ports, and worse battery life.
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MacBook Pro Users Express Concerns About Limited Battery Life
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Why would anyone pay so much money for this computer? PC seems like a much better deal.
I found two reviews who describe this issue in more detail.
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I had a 2012 13" MBA and I used Chrome. I got 5-6 hours worth of development time on it.
Please give me a reason to buy this! I've been wanting to upgrade my 2011 MBP since the retina version. Now I'm almost considering a regular MB for the weight. Either way I'll probably have buyers remorse. What do?
Reasonably sure a good deal of the complaints are from Mac Users who noticed their previous products lasted longer.
how can this be a serious article when the complaints include a person running an external display on battery (why just why?!) and a bunch of folks using Chrome which is a known power gluten.
Seriously MR what has happened to you? Apple never said 10 hours of battery life "doing whatever you want hooking up all kinds of whatever to the device".
Seriously MR what has happened to you? Apple never said 10 hours of battery life "doing whatever you want hooking up all kinds of whatever to the device".
Ah yes, 'PC'. That massive well-known manufacturer. Glad you're here to provide your excellent tips on laptop alternatives.
Are you recommending the sub-$300 HP 15-f233wm, with a CPU less powerful a decade-old mobile C2D; a system barely powerful enough to just run the operating system? Or the 14" Razer Blade that's on the opposite end of the pricing spectrum, that would eat up most AAA games you'd throw at it?
That's what I was just going to say......
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I dunno..I still have a 4 year old Lenovo laptop with Window 7 on it that's still working quite well.
Google Chrome sucks, it includes Flash.
No wonder it's listed there.
No wonder it's listed there.
I agree. Chrome has been a battery hog compared to Safari.
Don't use Chrome then we can get an actual usage time to determine how bad it is.
Before the battery died (spilled coffee on the thing) in my 2013 13" rMBP I routinely got 10-13 hours out of the battery. It worked as advertised.
I'd consider replacing the battery, but I wonder if it's worth it now, since I think Apple will obsolete it in 2 years.
(Anyone know if that's a stupid worry or not?)
Duffman doesn't use Chrome on a Mac!
I saw the battery specs and immediately thought how can OS refinement take a small battery and still allow the same battery life. 10% efficiency through code is achievable but they reduced the battery size by 80%. This was bound to happen and I am glad I didn't spend $3300 on a gimmicky vanity first laptop.
I took Apple so long to develop these products and now graphic glitches and short battery. C'mon.
I would hurry on getting that replacement battery. Historically (for me), third party battery alternatives for Macs don't age as well as Apple's.
Plus I'm sure this model will continue to get OS updates for a while.
THIS! This is so true!
We all now that hating on the new macbook pro is pretty fashionable right now but let's keep the facts straight. Using an external display will decrease your battery life. It is known that Chrome is also really bad on the battery life on macs. So, let's get one thing straight: higher workload = shorter battery life. It's not rocket science guys.
I have a 15" 2.9Ghz, 512Gb, 16Gb RP 460, and get around 4 hrs surfing blogs in Safari with the brightness at 25%. This F*****g sucks. An online session with Apple involving my diagnostics info revealed an unusual drain on the battery, even though the machine was barely ticking over. I also get the occasional display glitch on boot up. Looks like I'll have to bring this into an Apple store, but how can they simply swap out the glued in batteries - likely I'll have to get a new machine in the middle of a job I just started. Welcome to Apple Appliance Co.
Do they still have a QA dept?
Otherwise I LOVE this machine.
Do they still have a QA dept?
Otherwise I LOVE this machine.
You forgot a few:
-Keyboard is worse than previous generation
-Soldered components (cannot upgrade)
-three-finger drag issues on track pad
-Higher cost
-Gimmicky touch-bar
-Loss of mag-safe
-Loss of useful ports
A subset of users who purchased a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar claim to be experiencing shorter than expected battery life.
In particular, some users claim to be getting as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge, or between 30% and 60% of the up to 10 hours advertised.
MacRumors forum member SRTM said:MacRumors forum member Aioriya said:Reddit user Azr-79 yesterday claimed his new base model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar received only 3 hours and 45 minutes of battery life on a single charge, despite what he described as "normal usage" in the form of web browsing, watching YouTube videos, and software development.
MacRumors forum member Scott claimed he experienced a 5% drop in battery life, from 10% to 5%, in just 12 minutes. Google Chrome, a known battery hog, was listed as the only app drawing significant power. The discussion topic he posted in and others are littered with similar claims of sizeable percentage drops in mere minutes.
Other claims on Reddit include anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours to 6 hours -- sometimes more, and sometimes less.
Reversely, some users report battery life exactly in line with Apple's advertised figures. Reddit user Andrew J., for example, said he was working on non-intensive tasks on his new MacBook Pro for 90 straight minutes, and still had 92% battery life with an estimated 10 hours and 35 minutes of usage remaining.Estimates unsurprisingly vary widely based on screen brightness, background processes, and other factors, so user reports are only anecdotal evidence and your mileage may vary. It is also important to note battery life could be initially reduced until Spotlight finishes indexing your new MacBook Pro.
Battery life complaints are nothing new following the launch of a new Apple product. However, some users speculate battery life could be impacted by the new MacBook Pro switching from more efficient integrated Intel graphics to the power-hungrier dedicated AMD Radeon Pro GPU for unnecessary tasks.
Once again, however, there are always claims to suggest otherwise. Reddit user Lebron Hubbard claims he received 5 hours and 48 minutes of battery life on his high-end built-to-order 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar when forcing only the dedicated AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics to run using gfxCardStatus:Apple's built-in Activity Monitor and third-party app coconutBattery are useful tools for tracking system processes and detailed battery information.
Apple officially says the new MacBook Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life. Specifically, its tech specs page says all new 13-inch and 15-inch models are capable of up to 10 hours of wireless web browsing, up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback, and up to 30 days of standby time on a single charge.
TechCrunch placed battery life at 9 hours and 35 minutes for the 13-inch model. Mashable said 10 hours is a fair estimate overall. The Wall Street Journal got 9.5 hours on the 13-inch model. Engadget gauged between 9 and 10 hours of video playback on the 15-inch model. Nilay Patel got 5.5 hours on the 13" in real-world use.
Apple explains how it performs its battery tests on its website:Apple's website also provides tips for maximizing battery life on the MacBook Pro, including updating to the latest version of macOS, optimizing Energy Saver settings in System Preferences, dimming the screen's brightness to the lowest comfortable level, and turning off Wi-Fi while not connected to a network.
Additional battery optimization advice provided by users includes performing a fresh install of macOS Sierra and resetting the SMC.
Article Link: MacBook Pro Users Express Concerns About Limited Battery Life
Rtfa. These are people doing the same thing they did on their old machine, and the new MBP with a NEW battery dies quicker.
But hey, at least it's thin and has an emoji bar. lmao. Also from what I understand, Chrome is gluten-free.