Battery life for 13" and 15" Macbook Pro

[DB4AW]

Oh man! The extended return policy only applies to online orders!!? :/ I really want to return my Macbook pro 13' TB and replace it with a 2015 model.

Items purchased direct from Apple either online or at a retail store are eligible. So you are eligible as long as you purchased your MBP from Apple. No Best Buy or B & H.

But had you purchased a 2016 MBP from B & H, you would have until Feb 2017. The B & H return policy is even more generous than Apple's and they don't charge you shipping or tax if you're out of state.
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Holiday Return Policy
Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between November 10, 2016 and December 25, 2016, may be returned through January 8, 2017. Please note that all other terms and conditions provided in the Apple Online Store Sales and Refunds Policy are still applicable with respect to such items purchased. All purchases made after December 25, 2016 are subject to the Standard Return Policy.

There doesn't seem to be a mention of the policy for apple store purchases but I would think the same policy should apply as well.

Apple's return policy applies to both online and retail purchases made at Apple.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Items purchased direct from Apple either online or at a retail store are eligible. So you are eligible as long as you purchased your MBP from Apple. No Best Buy or B & H.

But had you purchased a 2016 MBP from B & H, you would have until Feb 2017. The B & H return policy is even more generous than Apple's and they don't charge you shipping or tax if you're out of state.
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Apple's return policy applies to both online and retail purchases made at Apple.

B&H doesn't accept returns if the computer has been opened/used.

 

[DB4AW]

B&H doesn't accept returns if the computer has been opened/used.

B&H doesn't accept returns if the computer has been opened/used.

You just need to call them and return the product in a like new condition with the original cartons and packing and everything.

 

[Nilhum]

I eneded up returning the 15 inch MB Pro. Got around 4-5 hours on 60% brightness and that was not optimal at all. Using an old 2014 13 inch at the moment until I decide what laptop to get and usually get 10-12 hours for the same tasks.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

You just need to call them and return the product in a like new condition with the original cartons and packing and everything.

This is from their website:

 

[Roller]

15 or 13"?

13", TB, i7, 16GB.

 

[jk76]

After macOS updates on my 15" MBP, I'm getting more or less consistent battery life readings (relying on Activity monitor and amperage on System information). At minimal use and lowest display brightness (well, it's constant polar night here now...), it really goes under 3 watts on light browsing with Safari, and battery lifetime estimate hovers around 20 hours for that workload, and it could actually be realistic reading!

On more realistic, professional workload of display at 50% brightness and Mathematica running (involving short bursts of intense CPU use and lots of thinking inbetween) - which is not really optimized for performance, enables dGPU and keeps taking couple percent of CPU time even when idle, battery life is still around 10 hours. It's definitely better than what I got with 2012 rMBP.

If you want to do constant multi-core full-load workloads, you better understand that being close to a wall socket is a necessity. It's a necessity with any other laptop too. Even if one would have 100 Wh battery, it would buy you only around half an hour more time. Such is life. I'm actually happy to have a laptop that has a battery life that extends on light load to an extent that covers longer time span than I'm likely to be away from my regular charger anyway. For me, after software updates, things are definitely better, not worse, than with the old rMBP.

 

[JohnnyGo]

Calmer and more rational expectations always help. MR forums are sorely lacking more of such posts these days.

Couldn't agree more: any heavy & constant workload necessitates a wall plug, no matter the battery size

 

[ibizarocks]

13", TB, i7, 16GB.

Impressive - I can not get past 6hrs.

 

[ihatetoregister]

Awful battery life.
I have a maxed out 13" touchbar, I get 3h30 of my normal use.

Setup : one external screen, one server running python / sql ( and not doing much since I work front-end mainly ), one Node app running (Webpack), Slack, and about 30-40 tabs in browser, and Sublime text editor.

Breakdown :
- 9h15 100%
- 11h00 down to 64%
- After 1h30 hours of sleep, machine lost 4 more % (!)
- at 14h10 I'm at 10%
- At 14h23 I got the warning (5%)

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Items purchased direct from Apple either online or at a retail store are eligible. So you are eligible as long as you purchased your MBP from Apple. No Best Buy or B & H.

But had you purchased a 2016 MBP from B & H, you would have until Feb 2017. The B & H return policy is even more generous than Apple's and they don't charge you shipping or tax if you're out of state.
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Apple's return policy applies to both online and retail purchases made at Apple.

For anyone wondering about B&H return policy, I confirmed that they do not accept opened/used computers, as their website states.

 

[LogicallyHank]

Setup : one external screen, one server running python / sql ( and not doing much since I work front-end mainly ), one Node app running (Webpack), Slack, and about 30-40 tabs in browser, and Sublime text editor.

It is likely that the external monitor is draining a fair bit of battery. This will especially be the case on the 15" as it tends to force the dGPU to activate at all times. Seeing as you have the 13" however, I suspect that it is a combination of the browser and the fact that you have upwards of 40 browser tabs open at a time. Are you using Chrome? Honestly, it seems like you are doing everything someone should not do when they want to reach good battery life.

 

[ihatetoregister]

It is likely that the external monitor is draining a fair bit of battery. This will especially be the case on the 15" as it tends to force the dGPU to activate at all times. Seeing as you have the 13" however, I suspect that it is a combination of the browser and the fact that you have upwards of 40 browser tabs open at a time. Are you using Chrome? Honestly, it seems like you are doing everything someone should not do when they want to reach good battery life.

I'm using chrome. Note that I was just testing the battery, usually I wouldn't be connected to the screen. Still, my impression is my MBP13 of 2013 lasted longer. That might be just an impression though.

Number of tabs should matter much. ram usage shouldn't be too dramatic for battery and CPU wise I'm far from maxing it out (about 45% CPU use).

 

[eulslix]

To be fair, my 2013 13" MBP wouldn't last any better through that kind of usage and I consider it to have excellent battery life. To put this into perspective: Rendering an average grade in Resolve will drain my 2013 13" battery in just about 90min.

 

[LogicallyHank]

I'm using chrome. Note that I was just testing the battery, usually I wouldn't be connected to the screen. Still, my impression is my MBP13 of 2013 lasted longer. That might be just an impression though.

Number of tabs should matter much. ram usage shouldn't be too dramatic for battery and CPU wise I'm far from maxing it out (about 45% CPU use).

Chrome is known to kill battery and AFAIK number of tabs has a reasonably large influence on Mac battery life (especially with Chrome). I upgraded from a 15" 2012 rMBP to a 15" tbMBP and I've experienced a considerable jump in battery life. With about 10 tabs open (Safari), Apple's email app open, and music streaming from Apple Music on iTunes, I'm averaging around 8-9 hours of battery life. Perhaps this is simply due to the fact that I only use Apple's apps?

 

[badlydrawnboy]

My 2013 MacBook Air got 12 hours of battery life out of the box using the same combo of apps I'm using today, including Chrome (when it was even more of a power hog). Yet my 2016 TB MBP gets only 6-7 hours with those apps, and sometimes less.

Yes, I can make it get 8 hours by only using Safari with a few tabs open and no video, and all other apps closed. But I don't want to be forced to change how I use my computer just so I can get 4 hours less of battery life than I got with a 3-year old computer.

Yes, this MBP is more powerful than the 2013 Air, so it's not an apples to apples comparison. But my hope—and I think many others had this as well—is that over three years Apple would be able to provide an increase in battery life and power in its major flagship laptop.

The reality, as many articles have pointed out, is that these machines are extremely sensitive to different usage patterns. For example, on my MBA I could use the videoconferencing app in Chrome that my medical practice uses for patient follow-up visits and still get about 7-8 hours. I tried this with the MBP TB yesterday, and got about 3.5-4 hours! That is a huge difference for me.

 

[Ethosik]

Has anyone tried to disable hardware acceleration in Chrome? That might kick in the dGPU even for light browsing.

 

[JustinRP37]

Using my new 15' tbMBP on battery today at work. I wasn't expecting the advertised 10 hours. I am down to 65% battery and it has been in use since about 9AM. I am using Outlook, Excel, Word, Safari, and iTunes. I was using a secondary monitor, but wanted to see if not using one slowed the drain. We'll see, but so far on pace for about 5 and a half hours. Sadly, this would only be about longer than my late 2008 MacBook Pro that this unit is replacing.

 

[protoxx]

An explanation of the disapointing battery life. (and some other items)

"In the run-up to the MacBook Pro's planned debut this year, the new battery failed a key test, according to a person familiar with the situation. Rather than delay the launch and risk missing the crucial holiday shopping season, Apple decided to revert to an older design. The change required roping in engineers from other teams to finish the job, meaning work on other Macs languished, the person said. The new laptop didn't represent a game-changing leap in battery performance, and a software bug misrepresented hours of power remaining. Apple has since removed the meter from the top right-hand corner of the screen."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/how-apple-alienated-mac-loyalists

 

[JohnnyGo]

My 2013 MacBook Air got 12 hours of battery life out of the box using the same combo of apps I'm using today, including Chrome (when it was even more of a power hog). Yet my 2016 TB MBP gets only 6-7 hours with those apps, and sometimes less.

I know its frustrating and your case seems to be that you truly need/value greater battery life.

IMO the screen technology (higher nits, retina, IPS), particularly the retina resolution, is the culprit here. That coupled with the smaller battery (in Watt/hours), limits how much battery life you will get.

The nonTB version has a big advantage here. Its CPU is more power efficient and, with one fan rather than two, it has greater battery capacity. That model should yield at least 2 more hours from all the reviews and all the posts I read.

I know you really wanted to keep your machine but maybe you have to accept a tradeoff and go for the nonTB model.

 

[JohnnyGo]

Using my new 15' tbMBP on battery today at work. I wasn't expecting the advertised 10 hours. I am down to 65% battery and it has been in use since about 9AM. I am using Outlook, Excel, Word, Safari, and iTunes. I was using a secondary monitor, but wanted to see if not using one slowed the drain. We'll see, but so far on pace for about 5 and a half hours. Sadly, this would only be about longer than my late 2008 MacBook Pro that this unit is replacing.

Using any device connected to the USBC ports is a battery killer unfortunately.

If anyone is in a desk connected to a monitor, one should try at least to connect a cable from any USB charger or hub. The 10-15w from that will lengthen your battery life significantly.

 

[lucasrant]

Are you guys still getting horrible battery life on the new MBP? Reading the articles for the past couple of days, I can't tell if people's computers' battery lives are better after they are done downloading all the iCloud stuff, and Spotlight indexing is done.
Have you guys found your battery life improves after a couple of days' use?

 

[ihatetoregister]

To be fair, my 2013 13" MBP wouldn't last any better through that kind of usage and I consider it to have excellent battery life. To put this into perspective: Rendering an average grade in Resolve will drain my 2013 13" battery in just about 90min.

You know, I was about to just say "I'm not sure but I definitely feel it's worse", then remembered I was running more stuff on average on my late 2013, so I decided to check.

Both 13" cpus in their maxed out versions have a TDP of 28W.
2013 battery has a 71.9 watt-hour capacity
2016 battery has a 49.3 watt-hour capacity

So yeah, it's not just my imagination, my 2013 fared much better, as I remembered.
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Are you guys still getting horrible battery life on the new MBP? Reading the articles for the past couple of days, I can't tell if people's computers' battery lives are better after they are done downloading all the iCloud stuff, and Spotlight indexing is done.
Have you guys found your battery life improves after a couple of days' use?

The terrible number I posted above are after a week of use so yeah, it's crap.

 

[JohnnyGo]

Are you guys still getting horrible battery life on the new MBP? Reading the articles for the past couple of days, I can't tell if people's computers' battery lives are better after they are done downloading all the iCloud stuff, and Spotlight indexing is done.
Have you guys found your battery life improves after a couple of days' use?

Mine was good from the get go and improved with 10.2.2

I can get from 7.5-11h of battery life depending on use (Office apps, safari, youtube videos, PDF, etc).

But I can see how some folks that user more power hungry software (Chrome with multiple tabs, photoshop, FCP) can get much lower mileage from their smaller batteries.

 

[lucasrant]

Mine was good from the get go and improved with 10.2.2

I can get from 7.5-11h of battery life depending on use (Office apps, safari, youtube videos, PDF, etc).

But I can see how some folks that user more power hungry software (Chrome with multiple tabs, photoshop, FCP) can get much lower mileage from their smaller batteries.

Right, I think my usage is more in line with yours. Thanks!