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xmonkey

macrumors 6502a
Jun 30, 2016
687
932
CA

d14b0ll0s

macrumors member
Dec 26, 2011
38
7
7-8 hours of light to moderate use @ MBP 13" TB 2.9 (Safari and Mail seem to take more juice than other 'regular' apps)
 

hawkeye_a

macrumors 68000
Jun 27, 2016
1,637
4,384
Been following this battery thing off-n-on. Has anyone begun to try and isolate(hardware/software) the cause for the wide range?

Everyone posting in this thread is doing different stuff, with different intensity, and different running configuration (ie not remotely scientific), etc...

Might I suggest, for consistency, people try the looping iTunes movie test (with the configuration(wifi,brightness,etc) for said test, as listed on Apple's website)? And do not extrapolate results based on 'time remaining' or 'percentages'. Report actual time based on when the machine shuts down? (maybe start a new thread for this, or any other particular test to crowd-source some somewhat reliable data).

This does not account for any third party background processes and such, but worth a try instead of people using vague and circumstantial adjectives to describe their usage pattern (light/heavy/etc)
 

imac2go

macrumors newbie
Dec 22, 2016
25
6
I know my question is not right here, but since I saw a lot of posts regarding gfxcardstatus I would like to ask you guys if there is something like that for bootcamp ? (sorry again for posting it in this battery life thread
 

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2009
1,371
404
Trying it out now, hopefully that will help with safari and iMessage randomly using the dGPU. How does gfxcardstatus work? For instance, if I try to render something on iMovie, will it still force the dGPU even when iGPU only is on?
To my knowledge, it will force the iGPU no matter what. From what I saw from the arstechnica review, browsing the web on the 15, which Im assuming was done via only the iGPU, they obtained numbers comparable to the nTB model which has been praised for its battery.
 

Roller

macrumors 68030
Jun 25, 2003
2,956
2,171
I posted this in another thread:

On the battery life issue, I am a developer and with build 10.12.3 Beta (16D17a) of OSX it seems to be fixed. I too had 3-4 hours of life and now, even using FCP and multiple programs I'm now getting 8 hours normally and can get over 10.

My computer:

2016 13" MBPTB 8 Gig 5 500 gig SSD i5 2.9

I'm now very pleased with the overall performance of the device.

I think the problem is the older OSX version keeps the CPU humming at a high speed, that is until heat slows it down, and therefore a higher wattage. They seemed to have tweaked some low level machine code.

I installed 10.12.3 beta and haven't seen much of a change as far as power draw is concerned, but I'll keep watching.
 

BondFancy

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2016
341
386
To my knowledge, it will force the iGPU no matter what. From what I saw from the arstechnica review, browsing the web on the 15, which Im assuming was done via only the iGPU, they obtained numbers comparable to the nTB model which has been praised for its battery.
Thank you!
 

DB4AW

macrumors member
Dec 7, 2016
59
28
Been following this battery thing off-n-on. Has anyone begun to try and isolate(hardware/software) the cause for the wide range?

Everyone posting in this thread is doing different stuff, with different intensity, and different running configuration (ie not remotely scientific), etc...

Might I suggest, for consistency, people try the looping iTunes movie test (with the configuration(wifi,brightness,etc) for said test, as listed on Apple's website)? And do not extrapolate results based on 'time remaining' or 'percentages'. Report actual time based on when the machine shuts down? (maybe start a new thread for this, or any other particular test to crowd-source some somewhat reliable data).

This does not account for any third party background processes and such, but worth a try instead of people using vague and circumstantial adjectives to describe their usage pattern (light/heavy/etc)
I actually replicated the CR Battery Test 4 separate times from full battery to shut off (using Battery Logger). I consistently got between 7 and 8 hours. So I doubt CR's claims. But how did you test? Have you at least tried your looping movie suggestion? What were your actual timings?
 
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badlydrawnboy

macrumors 68000
Oct 20, 2003
1,531
418
Okay, I've been on this thread since page 1. I finally just gave up and decided to keep the TB version. I'm getting about 8 hours on a charge with my typical usage, and I've accepted that. In the majority of situations it's enough, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

Now that I've let go of the constant tracking and fiddling I'm actually quite enjoying this machine. It is a step down from my 2013 MBA in terms of battery life, but it's an improvement in every other way.
 

GCMD

macrumors regular
Oct 1, 2014
113
43
My first test of light to average use (Handbrake, Safari, 1080p videos streamed over my local network), this will be fine for at least 8 hours...at LEAST.

Unplugged 5 hours ago at 100%...currently at 38%.I could easily get another 2-3 hours out of this.

One thing to note, the brightness is about halfway, which is fine for me. May not be for others and may affect their results.
 
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thesaint024

macrumors 65816
Nov 14, 2016
1,073
888
suspension waiting room
Okay, I've been on this thread since page 1. I finally just gave up and decided to keep the TB version. I'm getting about 8 hours on a charge with my typical usage, and I've accepted that. In the majority of situations it's enough, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

Now that I've let go of the constant tracking and fiddling I'm actually quite enjoying this machine. It is a step down from my 2013 MBA in terms of battery life, but it's an improvement in every other way.
Glad it finally worked out. 8 hours for normal usage is pretty good. I get similar life and it's fine. I wouldn't call it "giving up". Not sure what you were trying to achieve since you're at 8 hours for normal. Now you get to just enjoy it. I stopped caring after my first few tests came out close enough, but I do keep the Coconut monitor on my menu bar. I admit I still glance at it, but I usually only pay attention when I'm doing something new or going to a new site. Enjoy dude.
 
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GCMD

macrumors regular
Oct 1, 2014
113
43
Update...battery currently at 23%...I can get at least another 1.5 hours...
[doublepost=1483681604][/doublepost]Last update for tonight. 7 hours...battery is currently at 10%...

People complaining about the battery life are being overly dramatic. Don't know if they fixed something but this new MBP has nearly the same battery life of previous MBPs with a smaller battery.

Don't believe the "hype".
 
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smeek

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2011
14
0
I installed 10.12.3 beta and haven't seen much of a change as far as power draw is concerned, but I'll keep watching.

I'm also not seeing much of a change in power draw. Initially I saw spotlight and mds and mds_store processes taking up a lot of CPU but they've since subsided and the power draw is still pretty mediocre (avg 13W with light use).

I'll watch, but not for much longer... it may be time to just save money on a 2015 model.
 

Wildkraut

Suspended
Nov 8, 2015
3,583
7,675
Germany
Update...battery currently at 23%...I can get at least another 1.5 hours...
[doublepost=1483681604][/doublepost]Last update for tonight. 7 hours...battery is currently at 10%...

People complaining about the battery life are being overly dramatic. Don't know if they fixed something but this new MBP has nearly the same battery life of previous MBPs with a smaller battery.

Don't believe the "hype".
Yeah mine is fine, too.
Using 10.12.2.

But I also don't expect it to last long while doing heavy renderering with CPU/GPU.
Thats normal!
[doublepost=1483697458][/doublepost]Maybe these battery measurement tools are the culprit. Heh
 

rklinkhammer

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2016
17
12
Personally, I am not ready to write all these issues off as purely a software problem. The problem space can be pretty large. For example, if Apple did their testing on a limited production run systems and something changed. For example, a new stepping of the processor that now has an errata. It's happened with Intel before. Or, any other component with an internal defect. Who knows. I will wait and see.
 

Roller

macrumors 68030
Jun 25, 2003
2,956
2,171
Personally, I am not ready to write all these issues off as purely a software problem. The problem space can be pretty large. For example, if Apple did their testing on a limited production run systems and something changed. For example, a new stepping of the processor that now has an errata. It's happened with Intel before. Or, any other component with an internal defect. Who knows. I will wait and see.

That's possible. I also think that people are hyper sensitized because the battery capacity in these laptops is considerably less than in previous MacBook Pros, so any increase in power draw due to hardware or software is more noticeable.
 

jun180

macrumors regular
Apr 27, 2010
138
108
Sierra beta 10.12.3 has seemed to resolve my high battery draw on light usage...went from averaging 15-20w+ on light use to 6-12w on the same usage patterns. I am yet to test a full cycle, but early estimates put my 15" battery around the 8 hour mark which is acceptable.

I am still experiencing battery drain while in sleep though, about 1.5% per hour.

More info here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-light-use-2016-15-mbp.2026010/#post-24158685
 

JackDaniels3

macrumors member
Jan 13, 2016
71
15
Bulgaria
I am still experiencing battery drain while in sleep though, about 1.5% per hour.

Yesterday I finally got my MBP. One of the first thing I did was to kill almost everything related with the power nap.
I charged to 100%, disconnect, close the lid and went to sleep.
7 hours later... still on 100%.
But keep in mind that I didn't left any active apps overnight.
 

badlydrawnboy

macrumors 68000
Oct 20, 2003
1,531
418
Yesterday I finally got my MBP. One of the first thing I did was to kill almost everything related with the power nap.
I charged to 100%, disconnect, close the lid and went to sleep.
7 hours later... still on 100%.
But keep in mind that I didn't left any active apps overnight.

What specifically did you do? I'm only aware of one setting in Energy Saver related to Power Nap. Did you also do a terminal command to reduce the "hibernate" time?
[doublepost=1483713046][/doublepost]I'm curious if anyone has systematically tested the difference in battery life they get using Chrome vs. Safari? If Chrome does run the battery down more, how significant is it for you?

I've noticed some difference, but it doesn't seem as significant as others have suggested.
 

JackDaniels3

macrumors member
Jan 13, 2016
71
15
Bulgaria
What specifically did you do? I'm only aware of one setting in Energy Saver related to Power Nap. Did you also do a terminal command to reduce the "hibernate" time?
I didn't change anything with terminal. I remember that I pointed somewhere that only "find my mac" should wake my MBP and nothing else.
 

MrGuder

macrumors 68040
Nov 30, 2012
3,049
2,024
Been following this battery thing off-n-on. Has anyone begun to try and isolate(hardware/software) the cause for the wide range?

Everyone posting in this thread is doing different stuff, with different intensity, and different running configuration (ie not remotely scientific), etc...

Might I suggest, for consistency, people try the looping iTunes movie test (with the configuration(wifi,brightness,etc) for said test, as listed on Apple's website)? And do not extrapolate results based on 'time remaining' or 'percentages'. Report actual time based on when the machine shuts down? (maybe start a new thread for this, or any other particular test to crowd-source some somewhat reliable data).

This does not account for any third party background processes and such, but worth a try instead of people using vague and circumstantial adjectives to describe their usage pattern (light/heavy/etc)


Where is this link?

"Might I suggest, for consistency, people try the looping iTunes movie test (with the configuration(wifi,brightness,etc) for said test, as listed on Apple's website)?
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,243
13,317
I don't own a 2016 MacBook Pro (after careful consideration, I bought a new 2015 model instead).

But...
... since reduced battery life seems to come as a result of discrete GPU usage, perhaps Apple ought to consider releasing some software by which the user could disable the discrete GPU (and then run only with integrated graphics).

It could be in the form of a preference pane with a menu bar icon to indicate on/off status for the discrete GPU.

Perhaps it could also be configured to indicate (when not disabled) just when the discrete GPU was "active" (vis-a-vis integrated graphics).

This would give the user the opportunity to temporarily disable the discrete GPU to conserve power when desired...
 
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hawkeye_a

macrumors 68000
Jun 27, 2016
1,637
4,384
I actually replicated the CR Battery Test 4 separate times from full battery to shut off (using Battery Logger). I consistently got between 7 and 8 hours. So I doubt CR's claims. But how did you test? Have you at least tried your looping movie suggestion? What were your actual timings?

I haven't tested (waiting on a replacement). I was just pointing out that it seems like a big waste of time/energy for people to be reporting and complaining about non-standardized/non-scientific results.

One person reports they get 14hrs based on their usage pattern, and another person gets worked up and upset because they get 5hrs based on a totally different usage pattern.

You managed to replicate CR's tests? Did you have a local server cache some sites and then cycle through them or something to that effect?

IMHO, when it comes to web-browsing power usage the following variables probably matter:
-the browser
-the list of sites used to test
-the ads which show up on each
-whether or not an ad blocker is used

(Thats one reason I prefer the iTunes movie playback test as it's a bit more standard with minor variations depending on the codec,etc)

Cheers
ps>> i'D imagine that having FileVault, TimeMachine, etc...turned on would impact results.

[doublepost=1483727619][/doublepost]
Where is this link?

"Might I suggest, for consistency, people try the looping iTunes movie test (with the configuration(wifi,brightness,etc) for said test, as listed on Apple's website)?

Bottom of this page (point #2) http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
 
Last edited:
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