Consumer Reports Gives 2016 MacBook Pro Low Rating Over Battery Life Concerns [VIDEO]

Consumer Reports has announced Apple’s latest MacBook Pro line up does not make the non-profit’s “recommended list”, due to “very inconsistent” battery life on the new computer models.

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The issue at stake, says Consumer Reports, is battery life, which they said was inconsistent, ranging from 4 to 19.5 hours. They tested battery life by running web pages on repeat until the battery died using Safari and got mixed results.

For instance, in a series of three consecutive tests, the 13-inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours.

Those were just a few of the results; we tested battery life on these laptops repeatedly.

Another set of tests were done using Google’s Chrome browser, which the company said “initial results were on the high end of battery life range,” and suggested trying this browser if you are having battery issues.

When they reached for comment on MacBook Pro battery life, Apple told Consumer Reports “any customer who has a question about their Mac or its operation should contact AppleCare.”

Check out the video below:

YouTube video

On our 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, we’ve been getting just under 5 hours of battery life, and that’s with the latest macOS Sierra 10.12.2 update installed.

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