Battery life for 13" and 15" Macbook Pro

[JohnnyGo]

Hey everyone,

I've been participating in this thread since the first or second page. I've tried all of the "fixes": SMC, NVRAM, reducing hibernate time, and reinstall of Sierra. Initially the Sierra reinstall took me from 6-6.5 hours to 8-8.5 hours, but on this last cycle (about the 4th or 5th after Sierra reinstall) I'm only going to get about 5-5.5 hours. I've been on battery for 4:21 and have only 12% left.

So it seems that even the Sierra reinstall "fix" may be temporary.

Bad news ! There seems to be a problem with Migration Assistant that you need to delete a specific config file. Have you tried that ?

 

[JohnnyGo]

I Have A question please, to prepare the arrival and setup of my future tbMBP (2.6/1TB/460) : is "as new machine" setup + iCloud Download of all my personal datas + manual install of my softwares, OK to try to avoid the battery drain issue ?

That means : are there datas, or software parameters stored in iCloud backup, that might create conflicts and then batterie issues?

You should be fine. But remember that there's other software conflicts besides backups/migration assistant issues

1) safari extensions
2) better ad blockers (low power)
3) MS Word (new version with TB functions in the works)
Etc

Unfortunately, some users are experiencing outlier results and YMMV

 

[JohnnyGo]

Turn your screen brightness down a tad. On full brightness I am getting on average 6 hours. With brightness between 50% and 75% I am getting over 10 hours battery (13" w/TB)

I already seem to many people commenting about the impact of screen/keyboard brightness. The battery life is extremely sensitive to brightness level.

I'm OK with 50% brightness (the screen has more nits anyway) and no keyboard lighting during the day. That's usually when I work untethered. At night I am always closer to a wall plug anyway.

 

[dekka007hk]

Agree the brightness is the killer on these new MBP. Anything above 75-80% brightness reduces the battery life by hours.

 

[zedsdead]

I was going to return mine but it falls int eh wide return window that Apple grants for the Christmas season, so I have until January 8th now...still playing with it and seeing if Apple releases an update to macOS that addresses this (although I am not holding my breath for that).

I am not conducting tests, just using it as I normally do. Most two days out of the past week it lasted quite a long time and better than my 2013 MacBook Pro.

All other days it falls short. There seems to be a lot of inconsistencies for some reason with this product and I don't know why. I have gotten readings for 10 hours on some days and 3 on others...both while the machine was doing nothing and at full battery. It's quite bizarre.

Right now, 94% battery, about 3 hours remaining and I only have safari, mail, messages and fantastical open. Keyboard has a low backlight on, brightness at about 60%. This is unacceptable performance.

I don't think there is any way to slice it...the reduction in the size of the battery plus the touch bar are too much to make up for in regards to any efficiencies with Skylake.

 

[5to1]

Yeah I posted my thoughts on the tradeoffs on post 1094 it's worth it for me, there's also a thread around here comparing their portability (13 vs 15 portability or something like that) that I have posted in. The 13 seemed like a perfect size for a laptop and is incredibly portable but the 15 is also extremely portable just because of how streamlined and light these machines are. The 15 MacBook is far more portable than my 13 Lenovo for example. So to me the portability tradeoff isn't too great but what I get in return from the 15 is significant in the better screen real estate and power. So I get more value out of those than I lose with any portability issues. The only time I really negatively noticed the size of the 15 was when picking it up one handed but that was when directly comparing the two, now that I am used to the 15 I really don't notice and it does seem like a great size for using in my lap. So as someone else posted the 13 is more portable but the 15 is still portable. Maybe for other generations I may have stuck with the 13 but this 15 is so thin and light I don't mind carrying it around and the benefits are worth it to me.

The one thing you haven't mentioned is foot print.

With a laptop in use, you have to deal with that in two almost perpendicular planes. Many people who have solely used the 13" form factor may have little experience of the practical implications of this.

If you've stuck with 13" laptops you're whole life, you will still likely have historic experience wrt the weight of the new 15". As it wasn't so long ago 13" machines used to weigh this much.

As someone that may be forced up to the 15" form factor I really wish Apple had gone bezel-less over thinner (if possible).

 

[Karnicopia]

The one thing you haven't mentioned is foot print.

With a laptop in use, you have to deal with that in two almost perpendicular planes. Many people who have solely used the 13" form factor may have little experience of the practical implications of this.

If you've stuck with 13" laptops you're whole life, you will still likely have historic experience wrt the weight of the new 15". As it wasn't so long ago 13" machines used to weigh this much.

As someone that may be forced up to the 15" form factor I really wish Apple had gone bezel-less over thinner (if possible).

The footprint doesn't really bother me too much. If I use it in my lap it still fits fine (probably better honestly), if I'm carrying it I care more about the weight and thickness which isn't an issue. I guess if you travel all the time on tray tables maybe it makes a difference but that really isn't my personal usage. I don't fly too often and if I do I'm usually just using my iPad mini to read and maybe handle headphones if there are screaming kids. I was flying recently and someone had a 13" Lenovo on a tray table and this was a small flight (3 seats per row) and there were a few inches around the laptop. I know because I was already debating about this decision so I was interested to see. So I think you'd still be able to use a 15" on a plane it just probably takes up the whole table but the 13" pretty much takes up the whole table. It's not like you have room for a mouse or a drink with the 13" you have a couple more inches. If I was traveling a lot though that could make a big difference to me but honestly I don't fly all that much and don't typically try and do any serious computing when I do so for me that wouldn't really be an issue either way. Like even if the 15" did work on a tray table I'd still rather be using an iPad mini and be able to have a drink on the tray table rather than use either laptop. To be fair though that's usually because I have the luxury of a choice, if I had to use a laptop on airplanes maybe I would think differently.

One thing I wouldn't do is use the past sizes to inform your decision on this generation. I think by shrinking the bezel it is a smaller footprint than historically. In my usage the overall portability of the 15" is totally fine, I'd probably bring it with me anywhere. I'd say the best thing to do is just to go into the store and check them out and see what you think.

 

[jwdave]

Put here for all of us your battery life for surfing the web on MacRumors
From what i read, after indexing and all of that is done, the battery usage is like 11 hours for 15" and 12 hours for the 13"

[doublepost=1480860779][/doublepost]I received my top of the range 15" last Monday. I am seriously worried! Just browsing and email, no connected devices, standard resolution and it is dead in 2:30 !!!

 

[creamz]

ok, I correct myself

that estimate is realistic for the use that I do

wow, but it is only chrome right? are u playing facebook games on it?

 

[jwdave]

wow, but it is only chrome right? are u playing facebook games on it?

No, just regular browsing, news etc...

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Bad news ! There seems to be a problem with Migration Assistant that you need to delete a specific config file. Have you tried that ?

I did not migrate any data.

 

[konnyaku]

MBP 15" Touchbar, 460. Had the battery problem too. First time using, no unusual processes, dead in 4:22 with brightness on 40%. I charged it to full, then set it to play a Spotify playlist on mute/repeat, nothing else running, brightness on 30%. It died in about 4:30.

BUT -- THERE IS HOPE. Resetting the NVRAM and SMC controller seem to have done the trick for me. (I also upgraded to 10.12.2 beta then downgraded back to 10.12.1 via Time Machine, though I don't know if that helped.) I am now getting a solid 8-9 hours+ on about 40% brightness with standard apps open. Definitely enough for all-day use.

I'm also keeping Coconut battery running in my menubar with a wattage meter. I find wattage is the biggest factor in the rate of battery drain. As long as my wattage is kept under 10W then I can get nearly an hour out of every 10% battery. If my wattage suddenly shoots up, I find that putting my computer to sleep for a few seconds (I have 'sleep' as a shortcut on my Touchbar) then waking it back up will make my wattage go right back to normal.

[doublepost=1480866415][/doublepost]As a side note, I chatted online with an Apple rep about this and he implied that if the battery drain is a software bug in, say, MacOS Sierra, as opposed to a hardware issue, it won't necessarily be covered under Apple's 1-year warranty. Which I found pretty outrageous, but your mileage may vary.

He gave me a bit of attitude, too. I asked him if he was familiar with the issue, and if he'd seen the numerous online reports. He replied "Not every case is the same. I read online all the time that a random celebrity has died, and it turns out to be completely false. Not everything online is true."

 

[marcel500]

I am wondering are we saying it is a software or hardware problem or both ?

 

[jwdave]

Given the tip above I have reset my NVRAM and will report back if that helps me?

 

[dominiongamma]

MBP 15" Touchbar, 460. Had the battery problem too. First time using, no unusual processes, dead in 4:22 with brightness on 40%. I charged it to full, then set it to play a Spotify playlist on mute/repeat, nothing else running, brightness on 30%. It died in about 4:30.

BUT -- THERE IS HOPE. Resetting the NVRAM and SMC controller seem to have done the trick for me. (I also upgraded to 10.12.2 beta then downgraded back to 10.12.1 via Time Machine, though I don't know if that helped.) I am now getting a solid 8-9 hours+ on about 40% brightness with standard apps open. Definitely enough for all-day use.

I'm also keeping Coconut battery running in my menubar with a wattage meter. I find wattage is the biggest factor in the rate of battery drain. As long as my wattage is kept under 10W then I can get nearly an hour out of every 10% battery. If my wattage suddenly shoots up, I find that putting my computer to sleep for a few seconds (I have 'sleep' as a shortcut on my Touchbar) then waking it back up will make my wattage go right back to normal.

View attachment 676105
[doublepost=1480866415][/doublepost]As a side note, I chatted online with an Apple rep about this and he implied that if the battery drain is a software bug in, say, MacOS Sierra, as opposed to a hardware issue, it won't necessarily be covered under Apple's 1-year warranty. Which I found pretty outrageous, but your mileage may vary.

He gave me a bit of attitude, too. I asked him if he was familiar with the issue, and if he'd seen the numerous online reports. He replied "Not every case is the same. I read online all the time that a random celebrity has died, and it turns out to be completely false. Not everything online is true."

Apples support is a pile of poo now, and their not taking responsibity makes them look bad. Apples arrogant will make them lose customers

 

[xapp]

Idea incoming (haven't read 40 pages):

New MBPs use scaled resolution by default, which calculates 30% more pixels then the previous year model.

Go to Settings.app > Displays > Scaled and set the physical screen resolution -1280x800 for 13" and 1440x900 for 15" - might increase battery life.

 

[monkeydax]

Idea incoming (haven't read 40 pages):

New MBPs use scaled resolution by default, which calculates 30% more pixels then the previous year model.

Go to Settings.app > Displays > Scaled and set the physical screen resolution -1280x800 for 13" and 1440x900 for 15" - might increase battery life.

I don't think it'll make a huge difference, and users shouldn't be sacrificing usability just to get the battery life required.

 

[xapp]

I don't think it'll make a huge difference, and users shouldn't be sacrificing usability just to get the battery life required.

I talking about the same usability most people have been using since 2012, screen size and resolution haven't changed, so there is no sacrifice of any kind.

Apple itself states in Setting: "Using a scaled resolution might affect performance".

 

[Prothis]

So not sure if the SMC / PRAM reset or migration is an issue as it wasnt for me doing a fresh install and moving my stuff over through cloud but here are some tips that seemed to help me dramatically for battery life. Please give these a shot and let me know if these help you at all. I average 7-10 hours daily.

#1 - In the 15" if you are not doing something graphics intensive like browsing the internet, check your dGPU (Radeon) to ensure its not being used. Look at the Activity Monitor to see if it says 'Integrated' vs 'High Perf.' on energy tab. This will make you lose at least 3 hours off your total battery time leaving programs open that cause your dGPU to stay on.

#2 - Brightness has a dramatic effect on your battery life, 500 nits is not easy to maintain but I have issues reading text if its below 50% brightness. I keep mine around 60% most of the time.

#3 - Turn off your keyboard light - For me this is a feature they could lose and I'd care less. I dont use it at all and turning it all the way off can help your battery life substantially.

#4 - Turn off touchbar text recommendations. I'm an adult and know what I am typing, I don't need this feature unless I'm torn on how to spell a word. I have not figured out if touching the chevron on the TB (causing the recommendations it to collapse to the keyboard button) is the same as turning this feature off completely (if it calculates what you're typing still or just removes it visibly). To turn it off for good, go to keyboard settings in system preferences, click the text tab, and uncheck 'Touch Bar typing suggestions'.

#5 - Mail. I changed the setting in mail preferences to only check for mail every 5 minutes instead of the 'automatically'. Not sure if this one helps but it makes sense logically (especially with multiple mail accounts constantly checking) and the mail I receive is normally not time crucial.

#6 - Turn display off after... I have it set to 4 minutes. If you're like me working at home on the couch or at work and you get up to get a snack for a couple minutes, not always throwing it into sleep or shutting the clamshell, having it turn off automatically is saving tons of minutes of battery life that I am sure add up through the day. I leave 'Power nap' off also, not sure how this affects battery life.

If you're reading this apple employees, please please - Have a setting to not have the dGPU turn on. Automatic graphics switching should have options as to which GPU you're using, and the Pro's doing editing can leave their GPU on. (I use programs that are no longer supported that cause my dGPU to turn on when they don't need it. I know they don't need it because I use them on my old 13" rMBP with no dGPU and a way older integrated GPU with zero issues).

Hope these help

 

[jwdave]

well i think dominiongamma has hit the nail... after a NVRAM I have just used MacBook pro 15" quite heavily but not gaming or massive downloads, just email and surfing and after 50 mins still at 90% > looks promising, thx...

 

[Jamieblufc]

Is there any way to tell if an SMC reset has worked.. following the steps but it just turns on like normal where others say to press the power again to turn it on

 

[thesaint024]

I don't think it'll make a huge difference, and users shouldn't be sacrificing usability just to get the battery life required.

+1. The beautiful screen NEEDS to be used a max resolution. That's a big selling point of this thing. The solution presented is a good workaround, but we shouldn't have to do this. On a similar note, a more efficient way to save power is the brightness again. These things are 30% brighter than prior generation. Doing bad math, that means 50% brightness is equivalent to 70% on the previous. I'm usually between 50% and 75% depending on the room lighting.

 

[Brookzy]

+1. The beautiful screen NEEDS to be used a max resolution. That's a big selling point of this thing. The solution presented is a good workaround, but we shouldn't have to do this. On a similar note, a more efficient way to save power is the brightness again. These things are 30% brighter than prior generation. Doing bad math, that means 50% brightness is equivalent to 70% on the previous. I'm usually between 50% and 75% depending on the room lighting.

I can't remember which thread it was, but some people were bemoaning the new logarithmic scale being used on the brightness controller, but you point out the exact reason why - the display is a lot brighter. The good news is that 8 clicks from bottom (i.e. 50%) should be the same brightness on newer and older models thanks to the logarithmic scale.

Also, I'm waiting for DisplayMate's report to confirm, but I believe the display mimics the behaviour of the iPhone 7 insofar that "maximum" brightness cannot be reached by user input alone. In other words, at 16 clicks (100%) the display is not at peak brightness - it will only reach peak brightness if the ambient light sensor senses it is necessary, e.g. when used in direct sunlight. Another good feature - I always see people with their screens far too bright, whether it's on iPhones or MacBooks!

 

[Prothis]

I can't remember which thread it was, but some people were bemoaning the new logarithmic scale being used on the brightness controller, but you point out the exact reason why - the display is a lot brighter. The good news is that 8 clicks from bottom (i.e. 50%) should be the same brightness on newer and older models thanks to the logarithmic scale.

Also, I'm waiting for DisplayMate's report to confirm, but I believe the display mimics the behaviour of the iPhone 7 insofar that "maximum" brightness cannot be reached by user input alone. In other words, at 16 clicks (100%) the display is not at peak brightness - it will only reach peak brightness if the ambient light sensor senses it is necessary, e.g. when used in direct sunlight. Another good feature - I always see people with their screens far too bright, whether it's on iPhones on MacBooks!

Coming from a late 2013 rMBP 13" I had the two right next to each other and while the new 15" TBrMBP did have a drastically brighter screen, with both of the machines set to 50% screen brightness I could read smaller text on my old machine slightly better than the new one.

Do you think this is due to the new color gamut and increased contrast ratio? I think the screen looks amazing but doing basic things with lower brightness (below 50%) is almost impossible for my eyes.

 

[thesaint024]

I can't remember which thread it was, but some people were bemoaning the new logarithmic scale being used on the brightness controller, but you point out the exact reason why - the display is a lot brighter. The good news is that 8 clicks from bottom (i.e. 50%) should be the same brightness on newer and older models thanks to the logarithmic scale.

Also, I'm waiting for DisplayMate's report to confirm, but I believe the display mimics the behaviour of the iPhone 7 insofar that "maximum" brightness cannot be reached by user input alone. In other words, at 16 clicks (100%) the display is not at peak brightness - it will only reach peak brightness if the ambient light sensor senses it is necessary, e.g. when used in direct sunlight. Another good feature - I always see people with their screens far too bright, whether it's on iPhones on MacBooks!

Nerd! jk. Yeah, the screen is gorgeous in layman's terms. I'm just going to go by "it's bright and looks nice!".