Consumer Reports has always been mighty impressed with Apple’s MacBooks over the years. Be it the flagship Pro line or the “entry-level” MacBook Air, they have all been recommended by the publication. However, Apple’s latest MacBook Pro has failed to receive a recommendation from Consumer Reports, making it the first MacBook to NOT be recommended by the publication. As most of you will be aware, Consumer Reports is one of the most respected organizations when it comes to consumer electronics reviews.
The main reason why Consumer Reports does not recommend the new MacBook Pro is inconsistent battery life. The publication test three 2016 MacBook Pros – a 13-inch model equipped with the OLED Touch Bar, a 13-inch model without the Touch Bar, and a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Despite repeated testing, all three models returned inconsistent results. The 13-inch model with the Touch Bar delivered 16 hours of battery life in the first trial, but it came down to just 3.75 hours in the third trial. The results for the 15-inch model ranged from 18.5 hours to 8 hours. The tests were conducted once again after Apple released macOS Sierra 10.12.2, but the results did not change. For owners of the new MacBook Pro models, Consumer Reports recommends switching to Chrome browser instead of Safari, as all three models returned consistent battery life when using Chrome.
The inconsistent battery life is most likely due to software issues, so a future update may fix it. But until that happens, you should think twice before you get a new 2016 MacBook Pro.
Source: Consumer Reports
