The MacBook Pro battery life results were highly inconsistent from one trial to the next.For instance, in a series of three consecutive tests, the 13-inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours. Those were just a few of the results; we tested battery life on these laptops repeatedly.Typically, a laptop's battery life may vary from one trial to another by less than 5 percent. To arrive at our final battery life score we average those measurements together.However, with the widely disparate figures we found in the MacBook Pro tests, an average wouldn't reflect anything a consumer would be likely to experience in the real world. For that reason, we are reporting the lowest battery life results, and using those numbers in calculating our final scores. It's the only time frame we can confidently advise a consumer to rely on if he or she is planning use the product without access to an electrical outlet.
Battery life is an important attribute for a laptop, and it represents a significant portion of our overall score. After factoring together our complete test results, Consumer Reports finds that all three MacBook Pro laptops fail to meet our standards for recommended models.This is a real departure from past MacBooks. Most Apple laptops have scored well in our battery test, typically lasting much longer than the manufacturer has claimed. For instance, a previous 13-inch MacBook Pro model lasted an exceptional 19 hours in Consumer Reports testing.
Once our official testing was done, we experimented by conducting the same battery tests using a Chrome browser, rather than Safari. For this exercise, we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs. That's not enough data for us to draw a conclusion, and in any case a test using Chrome wouldn't affect our ratings, since we only use the default browser to calculate our scores for all laptops. But it's something that a MacBook Pro owner might choose to try.
Working with CR to understand their battery tests. Results do not match our extensive lab tests or field data. https://t.co/IWtfsmBwpO— Philip Schiller (@pschiller) December 24, 2016 Apple hasn't given me anything on this, but I've had folks in know tell me that big data scoop (all MBP users) is NOT showing these results.— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) December 23, 2016
Working with CR to understand their battery tests. Results do not match our extensive lab tests or field data. https://t.co/IWtfsmBwpO— Philip Schiller (@pschiller) December 24, 2016
Apple hasn't given me anything on this, but I've had folks in know tell me that big data scoop (all MBP users) is NOT showing these results.— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) December 23, 2016
In a series of three consecutive tests, the 13-inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours.
A person familiar with the matter had previously told Business Insider that at the time it published its findings, Consumer Reports hadnt yet released to Apple all the system logs necessary to diagnose what caused its reviewers to experience that spotty battery performance.Still, when Consumer Reports made its announcement, it did say that it would be willing to reconsider its rating if Apple issued any kind of corrective software patch or update. Apple is clearly hoping it can get Consumer Reports to reconsider, and restore its perfect record.
Gast
