Phil Schiller: Apple Working With Consumer Reports to Understand MacBook Pro Battery Test

[noslenam]

Yesterday Consumer Reports revealed that Apple's 2016 MacBook Pro became the first MacBook to fail to achieve a recommendation due to inconsistent battery life. Apple SVP Phil Schiller today tweeted that the Cupertino company is working with Consumer Reports to understand the battery tests.

"Working with [Consumer Reports] to understand their battery tests, " Schiller tweeted. "Results do not match our extensive lab tests or field data." Apple claims its internal testing has seen the new MacBook Pro providing up to 10 hours of battery life when watching iTunes movies or browsing the web.

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Consumer Reports' test has come under scrutiny since publication of the non-recommendation. The tests were conducted by opening a series of 10 web pages sequentially on Safari. This tests' inconsistency had the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar registering 16 hours, 12.75 hours and 3.75 hours of battery life. A 15-inch MacBook Pro ranged from 18.5 hours to 8 hours of battery life.

When Consumer Reports tried the test with Chrome rather than Safari, it found consistently high battery life. "For this exercise, we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs," the report said. Consumer Reports did not think it was enough data to draw a conclusion, though they also point out their test results only take default browsers into consideration.

Critics, like iMore's Rene Ritchie, argue that inconsistent test results require more testing to ferret out whether the issue is easily fixable, like a Safari glitch. Consumer Reports noted in its report that if Apple issues a software update that it claims will fix battery life inconsistency, they will conduct fresh tests.

Article Link: Phil Schiller: Apple Working With Consumer Reports to Understand MacBook Pro Battery Test

I know a great way to get better battery life stop trying to make these things paper thin! So frustrating. Give me a laptop that is another 3/16 inch thicker and you could probably give everyone the battery life they want with little issues. If I wanted a laptop that was as thin and lite as paper I would use a freakin pencil and paper. Come on Apple, quit trying to be like everyone else and give us one that is just a bit thicker and more powerful.

 

[Rogifan]

Just curious! Did Apple question CR's battery tests when their products passed the tests in previous years??

Why would they? And Schiller didn't say CR was wrong.

And I need to understand what is Apple doing in their battery tests.. Are they just shutting down the computer and turning back on 10 hours later or what? Because with just some youtubeing and surfing on the web I get no more than 3 hours..

If you're consistently only getting 3 hours then that's clearly unacceptable and you should return it.

 

[rom3o]

Apple executives have more class and professionalism and Consumer Reports is a credible organization so the adult and professional response isn't simply to deny it.

Well, they didn't really care about professionalism when they held that arrogant keynote to tell us we would be holding our iPhones wrong.

CR got 3 widely different battery life test results. Won't that suggest that something might be amiss with their battery testing methodology?

Don't forget that this very methodology has been conducted on hundreds of other tested machines before. And as CR stated, the results typically vary only by less than 5 % with their final score representing the average of all testing cycles.

 

[MarsViolet]

So you get less than 4 hours in one test at 19 hours in another and don't wonder if something went wrong with your testing?

They test every laptop the same way, so naturally they assume there's something wrong with the laptop. That's the whole point of standardized testing.

 

[forerunnerg34]

Phill, you should not compare CR testing agains yours, testing for Apple is just something casual, of course better tests than Samsung, but your testing level is that: problems with battery, antennas, touch screen, display, bricked devices, etc. Your latest laptop has flaws in hardware and software, buying the latest MBP is a lottery: you either get a good one or the one with problems period, similar to any other PC manufacturer, you charge more.

 

[ImaxGuy]

...by kicking the entire battery out to an accessory add-on product (sold separately of course).

And I'm only half joking there. "Thinner" eventually requires everything of substance to get pushed out of the box. (Some of) our very ready willingness to buy dongles and docks (sold separately) to get ports that used to be built inside the case are just the signs of things to come (out).

Perhaps they'll put the next genera7battery in an alternate universe? Problem solved!
/s

 

[9081094]

"I think if you're looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?"


– Tim Cook

Wish I could interview Cook. I've got many questions for him and I won't be satisfied with a pipeline.
I've an answer to the above. It's very simple: I can't do my job on an iPad, that's why.

 

[0023828]

Agree Apple turns all settings off probably to get that 10 hours of battery life

1. Testing conducted by Apple in October 2016 using pre-production 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7–based 15-inch MacBook Pro systems with a 256GB SSD and 16GB of RAM; pre-production 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with a 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM (wireless web test and iTunes film playback test); pre-production 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM (standby test); and pre-production 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The iTunes film playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 1080p content with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network and signed in to an iCloud account, to enter standby mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See www.apple.com/uk/batteries for more information.

 

[Wildkraut]

CR says they got better battery results with Chrome than with Safari. Wut???

How much did Google pay?

 

[ls1dreams]

This new macbook was such a disappointing update. I'm really crossing my fingers that a late 2017/early 2018 model will resolve the following:

- modern cpu chipset (cannonlake/coffee lake) that has hardware video decoding (will happen at some point)
- 16gb ram / 512gb SSD without a crazy upcharge (will never happen)
- reduced pricing - the latest change was really a huge jump compared to the past

 

[Naraxus]

Timmy Cook is a bean counter and nothing more. Quality and innovation at Apple died in October of 2011

 

[WilliamG]

Timmy Cook is a bean counter and nothing more. Quality and innovation at Apple died in October of 2011

AirPods (among other things) beg to differ.

 

[CrystalPepsi]

Another (former) 15" MBP TouchBar customer chiming in. I opted for the Radeon Pro 460 discrete card. After indexing was complete, I could not eek out more than 4.5 hours of battery, no matter what I tried. On the low side, I experienced a little over one hour while playing Civ VI and I maxed out at 4.5 hours while using Safari, Mail, iTunes. Typical battery life was right between 3-3.5 hours. It went back this week and I went back to my late '13 15" rMBP. I'll give the late '17 revision a look when it is released. It really stinks because I loved the laptop. It was beautiful. However, we cannot permit Apple to continue to advertise outrageous battery life numbers. We must speak with our wallets.

EDIT: Although I was disappointed with the new MBP, I'm loving my AirPods - one of the most amazing products they have released in past years.

 

[Count Blah]

How you read my post and concluded I was suggesting those who had issues were "lying" is beyond me. Please don't troll.

Gee, I don't know. Could be this absolutely dismissive part ...

But people choose to believe the horror stories over the countless others who have no issues at all.

But please keep up throwing around the term "troll". It really brings home the "you're either with us, or against us" attitude you are exuding.

 

[ImaxGuy]

I know a great way to get better battery life stop trying to make these things paper thin! So frustrating. Give me a laptop that is another 3/16 inch thicker and you could probably give everyone the battery life they want with little issues. If I wanted a laptop that was as thin and lite as paper I would use a freakin pencil and paper. Come on Apple, quit trying to be like everyone else and give us one that is just a bit thicker and more powerful.

Right. I thought "paper thin' was what the MacBook Air was about. Keep the Pro for the Pros and design them accordingly.

 

[Naraxus]

AirPods (among other things) beg to differ.

Airpods that weren't necessary were Apple not obsessed with making their products paper thin, least-in-class software (when they aren't getting rid of them ie Aperture, FCP), mediocre and subpar hardware, the Mac "Pro", the floodgates of professionals (not prosumers) leaving Apple for other companies that have caught up to and in most cases surpassed Apple in build quality. Dongles that aren't necessary etc beg do differ.

 

[Desert-Mac]

That's dreadful.
Can I ask how long you have had the nrMBP and what model and spec
thanks

About a week or so.

15" 2.9ghz 460 graphics. 512gb. Space gray.

 

[tech4all]

How much did Google pay?

I dunno. Why don't you Google it?

 

[WilliamG]

Airpods that weren't necessary were Apple not obsessed with making their products paper thin, least-in-class software (when they aren't getting rid of them ie Aperture, FCP), mediocre and subpar hardware, the Mac "Pro", the floodgates of professionals (not prosumers) leaving Apple for other companies that have caught up to and in most cases surpassed Apple in build quality. Dongles that aren't necessary etc beg do differ.

Yes, heaven forbid we should finally get rid of a port that's been in use since the 1950s...

Next you'll be complaining that nobody wants touchscreen keyboards on their phones, and Blackberry had it right all along.

People are afraid of change. I get it. But really, Apple is far from a disaster at this point, though I'd love some other product refreshes, for sure!

 

[sahnjuro]

Whatever....

And shut up, Phil.

 

[simonmet]

I had also other annoying problems: Now replaced it 5 times and EVERYTIME there was something loose in the display. The unit at the apple store was rock solid. nothing loose. I am so disappointed. My old one got stolen and I really need a laptop...

the guy at the applestore said I should order online to get an other batch...

Sounds like they're giving the same one back to you every time!

 

[BWhaler]

Yes, but just think of all of the dongles that are in the stockings of 2016 MacBook Pro buyers! Gold mine!

Mark

Don't forget Apple watch bands.

 

[Bacillus]

Tim: Phil, what's wrong with CRs test methods ?
Phil: I'm afraid these guys don't know how to test. They favor Google Chrome over Safari. I guess that says enough... how biased can you be.
Tim: But last night I got only 2,5 hours battery life myself with just a few YouTube movies.
Phil: Burp - you're also using Google by default ? Epic times, but anyway: Did you have your TouchBar activated?
Tim: Sure I had
Phil: Right, but then, what brought you to YouTube in the first place ? It can be very distracting when using the TouchBar. This machine was made with productivity in mind !
Tim: I was tired from working all evening with my iPad.
Phil: Then you are holding it wrong: iPad is for not work. Macs are. Our customers love their TouchBars more than anything else. We believe the whole TouchBar transition will be benefited by removing distracting items. TouchBar apps deserve full attention now.
So, we do our tests with mouse, screen, keyboard, network, GPU, Bluetooth, coprocessor, peripherals, dongles detached and sound turned off !
I advise you to do the same. Now if CR conform to our standards instead of imposing their biased methodology they'd get the same results as our customers.
Transparency !
Besides that: LG Ultrafine users have reported endless battery life !!
Agree ?
Tim: Euhh.., wuhh, yeah...

 

[AdonisSMU]

2016 was not a good year for batteries. First Samsung, now this.

Makes you wonder if companies need to stop rushing product out the door?

OR maybe people need to stop thinking there needs to be a new release yearly even if the technology available doesn't really warrant a new release.

 

[mpe]

I am inclined to trust CR more than iMore on this. iMore act more like a part of Apple marketing than independent site.

The Macbook saw more than 30% reduction of battery capacity while declaring the same battery life. The Skylake chips are indeed more efficient than Haswell/Broadwell, but nowhere close to 30% better. Not even when idle. With noticeably smaller battery the actual battery life to large extent depends on the actual use pattern and thats where these inconsistencies observed by CR most likely are coming from. Improving idle drain and faster switch idle/drain is good but it can't do miracles and compensate 30% missing watthours. If you use CPU power you'll see decrease of battery life...