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macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Removes 'Time Remaining' Battery Life Indicator
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you do understand that there is still a percentage right? which is way more accurate than "time remaining" in the first place? If they were covering up, they would be removing the percentage too. but go ahead and jump on this bandwagon
It's just like removing the fuel gauge in your car so you don't know the terrible mileage you are getting 
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*pre-emptive*
Spotlight is going to re-index again after this update, so don't immediately freak out about the battery.
Spotlight is going to re-index again after this update, so don't immediately freak out about the battery.
Maybe, maybe not. But why is this only now an issue? That indicator has been there for so many years and no one at Apple had a problem with it.
So why promise 10 hours in the first place. Just say battery life will vary.
yea its not like you hear these same complaints over OS updates from the past 10 YEARS. some people will have problems, most will not. but the ones that do will surely come here and whine about it incessantly
It's only useless if you don't understand how and why things fluctuate with usage.
Anyway - the point is - if it's that useless - why have it. Why remove it as a response to battery complaints. That's like Apple trolling its customers.
I know people are upset, but look at the bright side, Apple will likely make a battery life indicator dongle for only $79.99. I personally just hope they come in a space grey or rose gold option... but asking for that might be too much.
Nobody figured this out already? This indicator is just as useful as cars that give you an instantaneous readout of your miles per gallon - it means something, but not what many think it does.
A "battery pressure" indicator that indicates current drain would be more helpful. You wouldn't be able to predict exactly how much time you have left, but you'd know that by keeping it lowered you'll maximize your longevity.
A "battery pressure" indicator that indicates current drain would be more helpful. You wouldn't be able to predict exactly how much time you have left, but you'd know that by keeping it lowered you'll maximize your longevity.
Apple, point a finger and three come back at you. The only thing this fixed is Apple's coffers. Disgusting.
Brush it under the rug with a bandaid, Apple! Job well done!
The time indicator may not have been entirely accurate, and it certainly took time to adjust according to the current work load. But, it IS always a great way to quantify how brightness criples the battery.
The time indicator may not have been entirely accurate, and it certainly took time to adjust according to the current work load. But, it IS always a great way to quantify how brightness criples the battery.
So a feature that's been working fine for the past 20 years is suddenly being removed like the headphone jack. It's a courageously different Apple these days.
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
What makes you say this? There are many different factors that contribute to battery life such as display brightness, resource consumption, these can all be better factored into the time remaining. Even learning how the person typically uses their Mac would help to improve it.
Sure this is a lot of work for a minor feature, but there are certainly ways to better calibrate it instead of completely removing it.
its always been a problem, no one notices until macrumors posts an article about it. Apple has always stated that it is ESTIMATED time remaining based on what is currently running, figuring users were smart enough to know what that means. but since that is apparently not the case, and it was pretty inaccurate, they took it out
Oh my goodness what a solution!
That's the handiest bit of info you can get on your laptop! I hope they don't remove it from iStat menus!
That's the handiest bit of info you can get on your laptop! I hope they don't remove it from iStat menus!
Are they planning to remove time estimates for file copy, downloads and software updates as well? They seem to be inaccurate from time to time. Heck, the 10.12.2 update said "Less than a minute" for more than 6 minutes during the installation.
This is obviously to hide the fact that slimmer and lighter laptops give a more poor battery performance, but doesn't look good in the comparison charts. I would be perfectly fine if they had stated a more realistic 8 hours in their specifications.
This is obviously to hide the fact that slimmer and lighter laptops give a more poor battery performance, but doesn't look good in the comparison charts. I would be perfectly fine if they had stated a more realistic 8 hours in their specifications.
I emailed Phil Schiller and also submitted a Feedback message last night after my MBP lasted barely over 3 hours with nothing but Safari and Mail open on a cross-country flight Boston -> San Francisco, at 4 notches from the bottom of brightness. I laid it all out, and this morning Craig Federighi emailed back asking for a diagnostic report from Activity Monitor - I sent a 334MB file over that was created from that. I'd like to keep it private until it comes to a close - but I'm glad I never looked at or mentioned the time estimation in my email, as I was going off of flight time to keep track of how long the battery was lasting over the span of the 6.5 hour flight.