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Consumer Reports now recommends 2016 MacBook Pros after Apple fixes Safari bug

By Alvin Soon - on 13 Jan 2017, 10:00am

Consumer Reports now recommends 2016 MacBook Pros after Apple fixes Safari bug

Consumer Reports has reversed their earlier decision not to recommend the 2016 MacBook Pros (MBPs). After retesting the MBPs using a new beta software update, CR found consistent battery life that now “fall well within the recommended range in Consumer Reports ratings.

In December 2016, CR declined to recommend Apple’s MBPs for the first time, due to highly inconsistent battery test results. For example, in a series of three consecutive battery tests by CR, the 13” MBP with Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third.

Apple worked with CR to find out why they were getting these results and discovered that one of the settings in CR’s battery tests was triggering a Safari bug that drained battery life. Specifically, CR had turned off the browser cache in Safari, to simulate the visiting of new and different websites even when reloading the same page. Apple then issued a macOS update (Sierra 10.2.3, now in beta) to fix the issue.

In the retest with the new update, CR now finds that the 13” MBP without Touch Bar got 18.75 hours of battery life, the 13” MBP with Touch Bar got 15.75 hours and the 15” MBP with Touch Bar got 17.25 hours.

However, the fix doesn’t explain the many people who also suffered inconsistent battery life while using the 2016 MBPs. A recent poll by 9to5Mac of its readers also found mixed experiences of the 2016 MacBook Pro’s battery life. A full third of the respondents saw half of Apple’s claimed battery life, at five hours or less, and it’s unlikely that they all turned off their browser cache, just as CR had during their testing.

In fact, Apple’s first response to the inconsistent life was not without controversy — a macOS update simply removed the estimate for battery time remaining, a move that was described “like being late for work and fixing it by breaking your watch.”

Our own demanding battery life test, with video editing and playing video games, of the 13” 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar had its battery life pegged at nearly four hours, while the 15” model managed just shy of three hours.

The MBPs’ lower battery lives are likely explained by their smaller batteries, especially when it comes to the MBPs with Touch Bar (the 13” model without Touch Bar has more space for a slightly larger battery). The 13” MBP with Touch Bar has 34% less battery capacity, while the 15” MBP has 24% less battery capacity.

The lower battery life is one of the main gripes that some users have with the new MBPs, the others being the lack of an SD card slot and underpowered performance. If you own one of the new MBPs, and can’t wait for the new macOS update to swing around, Ars Technica has some potential workarounds you can try.

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