New 13" MBP non-TB & TB Battery Life??

[marc55]

OK guys, I'm seeing a lot of side comments about battery life being better on the non-TB, than the TB 13" MBP.

I was really zeroing in on the non-TB, especially since I'm seeing B&H offering $200 off the 2.4/16/512 version, but I'm thinking I might just take a leap and get the TB model; heck, I'm a sucker for technology.

However, I don'y want to jump on the TB model if the battery life is noticeably lower.

So, can we get some real world numbers here, as I'm torn between the two models.

Thank you

EDIT: I know actual usage numbers will vary based on usage, but any real world numbers are better than just saying "poor battery life". I mean most of us are MBP owners, so how do the new 13" models compare to your previous MBP?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

There are never any firm numbers with battery life it depends purely on what you use the computer for.

but apple state 10 hours for them all this seems to be a lot lower than the non TB can do, I think the verge got 16 hours in one test!!but many other reviewers got 11-13 hours.

10 hours seems to be about spot on for light streaming under apples test conditions for the TB version so you are looking at pretty damn good battery life whatever you go for.

 

[Ma2k5]

Well I'd say the touch bar is likely to be 25-30% less battery life, based on lower battery capacity (49wh vs 54wh), 15w CPU vs 28w CPU, having to power the touch bar and Touch ID, faster RAM (2133 vs 1866) and more ports (unsure if this required a less power efficient logic board design).

The 10 hour figure is based on using iTunes and light browsing only. Realistically the non-touch will have gotten much higher on this test but Apple decided to match it to the TB version.

I'd say 10-12 hours for no touch bar and 6-8 for touch bar depending on useage.

 

[skids929]

The laptops aren't getting that kind of battery life, a lot of them anyway. Search around on the forums here. I can tell you from experience with the 13 inch TB I am testing now there are some thing you need to seriously pare down and remove to get even 9-10 hours. I am getting about a solid 9 consistently but most people seem to be having issues with the batter. I had a 15 that drained the battery even faster. I honestly think there is some bios update or firmware update whatever you want to call it that Apple needs to do to help. SMC resets seem to be helping some.

I don't think its a reason not to buy it but thats a personal decision, I think honestly it will get sorted out if you are patient. If not you walk into the Apple Store and threaten to cause a scene if they don't take it back.

 

[marc55]

Well I'd say the touch bar is likely to be 25-30% less battery life, based on lower battery capacity (49wh vs 54wh), 15w CPU vs 28w CPU, having to power the touch bar and Touch ID, faster RAM (2133 vs 1866) and more ports (unsure if this required a less power efficient logic board design).

The 10 hour figure is based on using iTunes and light browsing only. Realistically the non-touch will have gotten much higher on this test but Apple decided to match it to the TB version.

I'd say 10-12 hours for no touch bar and 6-8 for touch bar depending on useage.

This is what I meant when I said I was reading a lot of side comments: you are saying "I'd say".

I'm looking for actual usage numbers

 

[Ma2k5]

This is what I meant when I said I was reading a lot of side comments: you are saying "I'd say".

I'm looking for actual usage numbers

Actual usage numbers have fallen in this range from what I've been reading last week or so. There has been a lot of negativity on the touch-bar battery life in general.

 

[skids929]

Actual usage numbers have fallen in this range from what I've been reading last week or so. There has been a lot of negativity on the touch-bar battery life in general.

Do you even own the laptop?

 

[marc55]

Here's another twist.

From what I've read, The base nonTB13" model has better battery life than th 13"TB model. The base nonTB has a 2.0 I5 cpu, where as th TB model has a 2.7 I7 cpu.

So, since I'm looking at the upgraded non TB model with 16GB ram, and a 2.4 I7 cpu, can I presume the battery life will suffer like the TB model??

 

[Ma2k5]

Here's another twist.

From what I've read, The base nonTB13" model has better battery life than th 13"TB model. The base nonTB has a 2.0 I5 cpu, where as th TB model has a 2.7 I7 cpu.

So, since I'm looking at the upgraded non TB model with 16GB ram, and a 2.4 I7 cpu, can I presume the battery life will suffer like the TB model??

No. Firstly, the i7 is still a 15w CPU (and I wouldn't recommend it, performance difference is negligible and could inadvertently just cause your MacBook to be more hot/noisy?). Secondly, the additional RAM is still at a lower speed but either way, RAM isn't probably a big factor.