M1 Pro vs M1 Max: cooler system with better battery life?

[yurkennis]

M1 Max has more GPU cores; a larger-sized package. Does that mean it should be more battery-consuming? Generate more heat?

M1 Max owners, what are your worst scenarios in terms of battery / thermals?

M1 Pro owners, does your Macbook perform better in those M1 Pro vs M1 Max: cooler system with better battery life?

Others: please share review pieces highlighting battery / heat issues of M1Max / M1Pro.

Update: see my conclusion here:

M1 Pro vs M1 Max: cooler system with better battery life?

To summarise my results there: 64GB Max (32 GPU cores) has ONLY 5-6% less time on a single battery charge than 32GB Pro (16 GPU cores) on moderate workloads where GPUs are not used. So in fact, Max is as cool and battery-efficient as Pro on workloads where unique capabilities of Max are not...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[yurkennis]

16-inch, 32GB of RAM, M1 Max, 32 GPU cores: "We found that it took 24 minutes [to get a 50% charge with the 140W adapter and MagSafe] — and the external case hotspot again over the middle of the number key row hit about 124°F [51° C] and was uncomfortable to touch."

New 16-inch MacBook Pro review: More power & more convenience for more money | AppleInsider

Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro is an interesting blend of very new and some older technologies, packaged up with the most power Apple can bear in a portable Mac.

appleinsider.com

 

[yurkennis]

14-inch M1 Max: "Benchmarking Shadow of the Tomb Raider was also the only time the MacBook’s fans kicked on and the chassis warmed up a touch in my week of using it all day every day. The rest of the time it was quiet as a mouse and cool as a cucumber"

The Ultra-Powerful New MacBook Pro Is Top Notch (Sorry, Sorry, Trying to Delete)

The MacBook Pro is finally everything you want a pro machine to be.

gizmodo.com

 

[yurkennis]

14" M1 Max: "The notion that the system doesn’t get hot is overstated — the bottom of the aluminum case gets toasty, but what is true is that you’re going to have to really push this system to get those fans to kick in."

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021) review | TechCrunch

The reaction among TechCrunch staff was swift and, best I can tell, universal. I don’t recall the last time I saw so many colleagues legitimately excited

techcrunch.com

 

[yurkennis]

All of the other M1 Max reviews I encountered tell the same story: battery lasts long; the case remains cool; fan is silent:

M1 Max: "Been recording and producing and taking video calls on battery and have literally never heard the fan turn on!"

https://twitter.com/andrewhuang/status/1452630665812447241

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16" M1 Max "[Low Power mode] setting also diminishes noise from the cooling system, although I struggled to hear any fan noise at all, even while running the processor-intensive benchmarks."

https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/136508/apple-macbook-pro-16-inch-2021-m1-max

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16", M1 Max: 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 64GB: "This machine only got moderately warm even when I was rendering 8K videos for testing. In a week of use, I have not heard the fan whip up once. ... the M1 Max MacBook stayed completely silent during the 8K rendering test [four-minute 8K video render test on Adobe Premiere Pro, the rendering process took 21 minutes, 11 seconds] ... I have used as my main work machine for the past week, and on days in which I don’t have to edit videos (just word processing on WordPress in Safari, along with Slack and Spotify opened, and maybe a short video call here and there), a full eight-hour work session away from charger only drained 38% battery. When I edited and rendered a 12 minute long 4K video (the whole process took about two hours), the battery drained 22%. ... A battery drain test, with the M1 Max MacBook Pro 2021 playing 4K YouTube video with screen brightness on maximum and volume at 50%, and the new MacBook lasted 8 hours."

https://www.xda-developers.com/apple-macbook-pro-2021-m1-max-review/

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16" M1 Max: "IT BUILDS XCODE PROJECTS SO QUICKLY. My fans have not turned on ONCE."

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1453239319804657665

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16” M1 Max with 64 GB RAM: "Archive build of Sky Guide with Xcode 13.1: 2019 16” MacBook Pro/2.3GHz 8-core i9/32 GB RAM took 263 sec. 16” M1 Max with 64 GB RAM did it in 119 sec. Intel machine was loud; couldn’t tell if the fans spun up at all on the M1 Max"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1453128274247229448

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16" M1 Max: it took quite an effort to make battery drop from 100% to 99%; "keeps its cool, no matter what you throw at it".

https://austinmann.com/trek/macbook-pro-m1-max-for-photographers

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16-inch, 32-GPU cores M1 Max, 1TB, 32GB RAM: "We see about 16 hours of work time in our testing so far, with periodic photo editing. Video editing cuts that down to about 12 hours.
...
Intel Macbook's typical hotspot is about 80F (26.7C) on M1 Max when under load for sustained periods."

https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...ew-more-power-more-convenience-for-more-money

 

[yurkennis]

14" M1 Max: "I figured out how to finally get the fans going... Try installing node v12 using nvm. [It took] a minute or two"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1453588748613009410

 

[UltimateSyn]

Ah ****. The Verge is stating that they got six hours shorter battery life with their M1 Pro 16" vs. their M1 Max 16".

All that performance is excellent, but here’s what’s really impressive: the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro ran for 16 hours on its battery during continuous use, making it the longest-lasting laptop we’ve ever tested.

To test battery life, we just use the machines during the work day, without plugging in, and without letting the display go to sleep. So that 16 hours involved jumping between a dozen-ish Chrome tabs, using apps like Slack and Spotify, and often running Zoom calls and YouTube videos over that. At one point we were worried we’d fall asleep before the MacBook Pro did.

THERE IS A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN BATTERY LIFE BETWEEN MODELS WITH THE M1 PRO AND THOSE WITH THE M1 MAX

The other two MacBook Pro models didn’t last quite this long in similar testing — but their results are still exceptional. The 14-inch model with the M1 Pro lasted just over 10 and a half hours during normal use, and the 16-inch M1 Max model ran for just over 10 hours. A lot of you asked about battery life with an external display plugged in; when I worked for a day with the TV I use for Zoom intermittently plugged into the HDMI port on that M1 Max machine, battery life fell to seven hours.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 and 16 (2021) review: return to form

Good enough to forget entirely about the 2016 MacBook Pro.

www.theverge.com

 

[bobcomer]

Ah ****. The Verge is stating that they got six hours shorter battery life with their M1 Pro 16" vs. their M1 Max 16".

Don't you mean the M1 Max got 6 hours shorter battery life -- since the M1 Pro is their best battery life tested laptop so far?

I'll be plugged in most of the time, so that doesn't bother me and the increased GPU cores and memory bandwidth is probably the difference. I'll agree the quoted article is kind of confusing!

 

[yurkennis]

Ah ****. The Verge is stating that they got six hours shorter battery life with their M1 Pro 16" vs. their M1 Max 16".



THERE IS A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN BATTERY LIFE BETWEEN MODELS WITH THE M1 PRO AND THOSE WITH THE M1 MAX

Worth noting that among 16", Verge compared 16-GPU Pro against 32-GPU Max. I wonder how it would be different for 24-GPU-cores Max.

But even the above figures are dramatic difference, so hard to expect.

 

[leman]

Worth noting that among 16", Verge compared 16-GPU Pro against 32-GPU Max. I wonder how it would be different for 24-GPU-cores Max.

But even the above figures are dramatic difference, so hard to expect.

If they are doing GPU-heavy work, it's not surprising. The wider memory interface is going to eat up more power and the 32-core GPU is going to be even worse.

But to have the battery life impacted so much in regular operation is a bit worrisome. I hope future updates can tweak it, maybe partially shutting down the GPU...

 

[yurkennis]

If they are doing GPU-heavy work, it's not surprising.

But to have the battery life impacted so much in regular operation is a bit worrisome.

Don't think GPU has any significant load during this:

So that 16 hours involved jumping between a dozen-ish Chrome tabs, using apps like Slack and Spotify, and often running Zoom calls and YouTube videos over that.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Don't think GPU has any significant load during this:

So that 16 hours involved jumping between a dozen-ish Chrome tabs, using apps like Slack and Spotify, and often running Zoom calls and YouTube videos over that.

But then she said that Nilay was the one who got ten hours with the M1 Max. So they could have vastly different workflows. Wish their testing was a little more scientifically laid out.

 

[yurkennis]

THERE IS A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN BATTERY LIFE BETWEEN MODELS WITH THE M1 PRO AND THOSE WITH THE M1 MAX

Importantly, the Verge says Apple confirmed this is how it should be:

I asked Apple, and the company confirmed the M1 Max uses more power both when idle and when active, but it noted that the M1 Max might potentially be more efficient if you run specific multi-core GPU workloads all day.

 

[yurkennis]

But then she said that Nilay was the one who got ten hours with the M1 Max. So they could have vastly different workflows. Wish their testing was a little more scientifically laid out.

Tried to reach out to Nilay Patel with these questions:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1454132565732909056

 

[Macintosh IIcx]

If they are doing GPU-heavy work, it's not surprising. The wider memory interface is going to eat up more power and the 32-core GPU is going to be even worse.

But to have the battery life impacted so much in regular operation is a bit worrisome. I hope future updates can tweak it, maybe partially shutting down the GPU...

Something is not right here, this needs further investigation. Having said that, Chrome can be an unpredictable resource hog so who knows.

 

[Someirishguy]

I call shenanigans!

Apple insider reported 16 hours for the M1 Max

Toms Guide reported 15.5 hours for the M1 Max

Which are basically the same as what the Verge reported for the M1 Pro (16 hours)

 

[leman]

I also noticed that some other reviewers report 16+ hours on the Max so who knows… kind of starting to regret my purchase now ?

 

[UBS28]

I call it BS. Only when horsepower is called, a big difference will appear as it has double to power to spend.

 

[leman]

I call it BS. Only when horsepower is called, a big difference will appear as it has double to power to spend.

Wider memory will consume more power. More GPU cores will consume more power (even if the task trivial). Yes, you can mitigate it somewhat but there is no way that baseline Max power usage can match the Pro.

 

[UBS28]

Wider memory will consume more power. More GPU cores will consume more power (even if the task trivial). Yes, you can mitigate it somewhat but there is no way that baseline Max power usage can match the Pro.

But not a difference of 6 hours when doing light tasks.

 

[Someirishguy]

Here’s a more scientific test, battery results 6:45 in:

M1 Pro and M1 Max used the same amount of battery over the series of benchmarks, with both beating the M1 (2020). The video concluded that the M1 Max gives you the extra performance without compromising on battery.

This next video pegs the M1 Max battery at 15:40 (close to 16 again)

 

[blahri]

Indeed, the verge does mention they find reduced battery life on M1 max compared to M1 Pro on 16 inch, and this does make sense to me.

I wonder weather the 14 inch base model with disabled cores would also have better battery compared to the normal M1 Pro 14 inch. Or would this difference be too small to notice?

 

[leman]

I wonder weather the 14 inch base model with disabled cores would also have better battery compared to the normal M1 Pro 14 inch. Or would this difference be too small to notice?

Unlikely, since the binned Apple cores usually consume slightly more power. Basically, you just get fewer cores, but the power consumption does not change much.

There might be a difference between the 24 and the 32 core Max GPU, but probably only in GPU-heavy workflows abs probably not much.

 

[Fomalhaut]

Here’s a more scientific test, battery results 6:45 in:

M1 Pro and M1 Max used the same amount of battery over the series of benchmarks, with both beating the M1 (2020). The video concluded that the M1 Max gives you the extra performance without compromising on battery.

This next video pegs the M1 Max battery at 15:40 (close to 16 again)

Hmmm, that WSJ review gave rather more sobering figures for what I would consider typical usage (Safari browsing, Slack, Music). Only 6.5 hours on the MBP14 (8 hours on the MBP16) is not what I would call a full working day.

Turning off wifi and screen brightness below 50% is not typical for me (unless the new screens are really much brighter). Pretty much everything I do requires me to be connected to the net. Looks like a power brick or charger is still going to be necessary.

 

[theMarble]

I wonder weather the 14 inch base model with disabled cores would also have better battery compared to the normal M1 Pro 14 inch. Or would this difference be too small to notice?

I'd doubt it, if there was any difference in battery life it would be miniature.