macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Removes 'Time Remaining' Battery Life Indicator

[vintimus]

That's a pretty interesting change there Apple

 

[Sheza]

Remember when they tried to hide antennagate on the iPhone 4 by making the signal bars taller?

This is a stupid move for sure, but nobody can say it wouldn't have happened under Steve Jobs.

 

[Naraxus]

Are you guys serious? How many users on this forum have been using the indicator as the end all for their battery life? A LOT. Many of whom were enraged that they were getting 3 hours on a full charge without actually timing the battery to realize they were getting much more.

By removing the inaccurate indicator, now Apple can ACCURATELY measure how many batteries are actual lemons, or how bad the software may be optimized because people will complain with legitimacy. Not "I'M AT 100% BUT IT SAYS I have 2:45 HOURS LEFT I'M RETURNING MY MACBOOK AGHHH."

So instead of actually fixing the inaccuracy they decide to remove all indicators?

 

[Lone Deranger]

Hey Tim, I believe Emojis are ultimately inaccurate and can lead to confusion about expressions, race, etc. Please remove them all from macOS 10.12.3 going forward. No, really!

 

[Dr_Dengroth]

The timer is still there if you look in the activity control or whats it named in the english version...

 

[Starfyre]

So just to make sure, is the Macbook Pro battery actually getting ~3 hours in the real world and Apple is just hiding it? Or is has the indicator just been wrong this whole time?

 

[jcshas]

I noticed it missing in the public beta, and spent several minutes digging around for the setting. Hope there's a terminal command to enable time remaining vs. percentage.

 

[Apple_Robert]

For those complaining about the indicator bering removed, and that Apple isn't working behind the green curtain on this issue, do you have any actual proof such is the case?

 

[clangers23]

Apple have announced this is not an attempt to conceal those non-existent battery issues.

 

[MacNut]

That has absolutely nothing to do with this. Not even the same conversation.

Sure it does. Apple can't make a battery that lives up to their claims so they use smoke and mirrors to hide that fact.

 

[Dualica 01]

NOOOOOO!
Don't remove that...

Will that also remove the 'time remaining' and 'time on battery' from the activity monitor?
Can anybody check, please?!

 

[Aquaporin]

So just to make sure, is the Macbook Pro battery actually getting ~3 hours in the real world and Apple is just hiding it? Or is has the indicator just been wrong this whole time?

Probably a mix. If you use safari sans flash and watch iTunes videos you'll probably get a lot better battery life.

 

[allanfries]

1.87GB download. WTF? Time remaining indicated gone? No problem, I have an app for that.

 

[montanaco]

So instead of actually fixing the inaccuracy they decide to remove all indicators?

Like I said to the other user, I prefer they remove it for now, weed out the uninformed complainers, and then reinstate a working version along side any necessary software updates to help optimize the battery life.

 

[zaaach48]

Again, I think the issue is Apple's marketing claim vs. a reality at much less for many...

...paired with some consumer frustration at the hard cling to "thinner" by ejecting stuff like some battery...

...and then see what looks like a sly "trick" like this one where it's hard to justify the rationale or timing for implementing this particular change other than to try to address this problem by not really having to do something of substance (aka "you're holding it wrong")...

...and you get a bunch of bashes. I think those that view some halo around Apple try to see this as just an unfortunate timing coincidence. Others see this as tarnishing the halo or worse.

If the bulk of us really coveted "thinner," then stuff like this would be more of a "we brought this on ourselves." But the "thinner" ship has probably long since sailed except in the minds of the product developers at Apple. And now it seems to further "thin" products is to kick useful consumer utility OUT.

Even that might be palatable by the more faithful/fans if, in reducing utility, pricing comes down too. But here, pricing went up.

That's a lot of seemingly UN-Apple-like moves to try to spin away as nothing... even among the more faithful/loyalists/fan segments.

In a bigger picture view: I think many of us are just starving for something great from Apple... something that looks like Apple put it's customers above maximizing every nickel of profit... a classically big innovation that makes us believe they are still on top of their game. But rumor after rumor and action after action seems to be a let down. Where have you gone Apple Dimaggio?

yea but there's nothing they can do. if they don't find a hardware issue with the batteries or logic board, then the only thing left for them is to optimize the OS as best they can. Beyond that, its all up to the users and what they install and how they run it. Everyone expects a fix, but if they legitimately can't find a hardware or OS problem, then would you all accept "We found nothing wrong and won't be making any changes" as an answer? doubt it

As for the quest for thinness, I think every tech company is guilty...yes perhaps Apple more so. But the miniaturization of technology has been progressing for decades and will continue until that tech is seamless integrated into our lives (or brains or whatever). Everybody thinks it would be so cool to have the Minority Report computers but don't want to go through the persistent growing pains it takes to get there.

I agree that we all want Apple to come out with the next great thing. But again, this is industry-wide. The mobile boom is over, VR and wear-ables are not really catching on mainstream, cloud is ubiquitous, cars are too engrained in our society to disrupt, so what's next?

 

[Jonesmak]

Ha....to all you people saying this is a trash move, No, it's just weeding out the idiots. ANYONE who is reporting "3 hours of battery life" hasn't used the computer until it actually shut off. I've had it say 30 minutes remaining for over 2 hours.

 

[SeanG1027]

Does it also remove the time remaining indicator in Activity Monitor?

 

[Sam_S]

Remember when they tried to hide antennagate on the iPhone 4 by making the signal bars taller?

This is a stupid move for sure, but nobody can say it wouldn't have happened under Steve Jobs.

I don't think that they would have released such a compromised product under Steve's leadership.

 

[zaaach48]

couldn't make it up! A relative had an MRI scan which can be intimidating and noisy. She kept pressing the alarm button but the radiographer explained afterwards that they had to disconnect the button because everyone was pressing it...

Haha this is a great analogy. Everybody thinks whatever they are experiencing is SOOOOOO urgent

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't think that they would have released such a compromised product under Steve's leadership.

And as we all know, there were never any OS related bugs that took a good while to properly address under Steve's direction.

Logical fallacies are by definition, not logical.

 

[Avenged110]

Well one is certainly more accurate than the other...percentage is more accurate because its like saying how much water is left in the glass rather than how fast you can drink it. If they removed all indicators of battery life, then yes, I would be outraged and jump on the "Apple is covering something up" bandwagon.

Maybe so, but the time remaining indicator can still be useful. It's just annoying they felt the need to remove it.

 

[Mlrollin91]

macOS Sierra 10.12.2, released this morning, features several key bug fixes and addresses an issue that has plagued some customers who purchased a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar -- battery life.

Apple believes that the battery life indicator in macOS Sierra is ultimately inaccurate and has led to some confusion about battery performance, and so it has been removed in macOS Sierra 10.12.2.

Going forward, the battery icon in the Mac's menu bar will offer a look at remaining battery percentage, but it won't provide estimates on how long the MacBook Pro's battery will last. Here's what Apple said about it to The Loop:MacBook Pro buyers have complained about getting less than 10 hours of battery life, reporting as little as three hours of battery life in some cases, but battery performance can vary significantly based on the apps and processes that are running.

Customers with poor performance may be using apps that are not optimized for the new MacBook Pro, and on the 15-inch machine, if an app engages the discrete GPU, battery life takes a significant hit. For MacBook Pro owners who are seeing bad battery life, it's worth checking the Activity Monitor to make sure the dGPU is not in use.

Spotlight indexing, iCloud photo syncing, and other behind-the-scenes processes can also have an impact on battery life, especially when a machine is new.

According to The Loop, Apple has done extensive battery life testing on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and continues to stand by its battery life estimates of up to 10 hours. It seems Apple believes reports of bad battery life are largely based on the faulty indicator, but there have been some real world tests that don't rely on the estimate and still show poor performance.

Apple says its new MacBook Pros can get up to 10 hours of battery life when browsing the web or when watching iTunes movies.

Article Link: macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Removes 'Time Remaining' Battery Life Indicator

For the record, I know this is now buried 13 pages back, but Activity Monitor -> Energy; still gives the estimated time remaining.

 

[Brian Clifford]

The solution is simple - return to detachable batteries. But, that of course, wouldn't be in-keeping with all the fixed components which suit planned obsolescence.

 

[Windoes]

What's next? Anticipating next update

 

[ValSalva]

What? It goes up and down depending on what you do? That's quite obvious, especially when later CPUs sat at a nice idle speed and then bumped up during more intensive stuff. Never had a problem with the time counter and was always reliable. Especially over Windows laptops.

No-one's ever complained about it. Apple are panicking. I certainly won't be installing Sierra. The start of this short of crap might lose them customers.

The time indicator was an at-the-moment prediction of how much time was left if the computer was performing the same amount of work for the rest of its current battery cycle. That's why it would vary.

The battery percentage, though not perfect, provides a better understanding of remaining battery capacity.

I don't agree with Apple removing it though. I never relied on it on a day to day basis. I've used to to see how operating time left would change over time, i.e., how much time at idle with a 100% or 50% battery percentage would the computer predict I had left. As the battery aged that time would inevitably decrease.

I'm never for removing a feature. The timing, no pun intended, is bad. You just know if the new MacBook Pros had universally great battery life this change would not have been made now.