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MacBook Pro battery life


Hello Apple community,


Less than a month ago I purchased a macbook pro 13" 32GB Ram 1TB Disk. I use it mostly to edit photos on Lightroom, and sometimes on photoshop. I noticed the battery was running out in about 3 hours when editing, and about 5 hours when browsing (even with the battery management turned off). I contacted the support team and they tried to investigate the cause - Battery was ok, apps ok. They made me delete my home profile and re-install Chrome, and then use my laptop on Safe Mode. Problem not resolved. My battery was still draining fast on safe mode too - about 20% or more per hour


I called them back and they offered me replacement, which I accepted, but the new laptop seems not have improved the battery life much.


I haven't used it to edit yet, but I left my computer on for one hour (with Safari and Chrome running on the background), and then I used both browsers for less than 2 hours - 50% of the battery was gone after that, which means the battery would hold only 6 hours of light use, and probably a lot less if I was editing.



My old MacBook Pro (which cost me less than £1000) would hold a lot more when it was new, with the same applications, or more. Even after 5 years, I could still use it for about 90 minutes off power.


It's just very disappointing to pay £2400 for a poor battery life.


Has anyone else having the same battery issue with the same model/customisation?



Cheers,


Cin




[Re-Titled by Moderator]


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Aug 13, 2020 8:23 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 13, 2020 8:53 AM

When you first get a Mac, it will index the entire drive contents (Spotlight). If you migrated data from a prior Mac, this can take days with the indexing running in the background and that will take chunk of CPU power and reduce battery life temporarily. Worth noting that Chrome is a resource hog (Google has acknowledged that and says they'll provide a fix), and depending on what you're doing any browser can drive the CPU/GPU pretty hard (streaming ads, YouTube, etc.). I would suggest that what you're seeing is normal.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 13, 2020 8:53 AM in response to cin-

When you first get a Mac, it will index the entire drive contents (Spotlight). If you migrated data from a prior Mac, this can take days with the indexing running in the background and that will take chunk of CPU power and reduce battery life temporarily. Worth noting that Chrome is a resource hog (Google has acknowledged that and says they'll provide a fix), and depending on what you're doing any browser can drive the CPU/GPU pretty hard (streaming ads, YouTube, etc.). I would suggest that what you're seeing is normal.

Aug 13, 2020 8:53 AM in response to cin-

The MacBook Pro uses so much power, you should think of it as battery-capable, NOT battery-operated like your phone.


Your computer performs best when connected to AC power. It can use the full output of the Power Adapter AND when doing especially challenging work will also freely "borrow" power from the battery. In some cases, the charged state may even decline during stressful work.


When used only on battery, your computer has no extra cushion of power, and will perform more slowly. However, for ordinary non-stressful tasks this may not be objectionable (possibly not even noticeable.)


In general, you should ALWAYS connect AC power when it is possible to do so, and only run on batteries (which will be somewhat slower) when no AC sources are at hand. There are three micro-controllers cooperating on battery and charging issues, and your Mac will NEVER over-charge.


A charge cycle is ever-so-slightly destructive to batter longevity. When operating as designed (and not using Battery Health Management) battery charge level is allowed to decline to about 92 percent level before initiating a recharge cycle to top up to about 99 percent.


--------

Catalina software 10.15.5 for MacBook Pro with T2 chip (2016 models and later) includes a new feature called Battery Health Management. Based on your usage patterns, this widens the hysteresis to initiate a charge cycle at a lower level, and stop before 99 percent.


About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211094


This relaxes the set points around re-charging (based on your usage patterns) and can improve long term battery lifetimes. When active, recharging may stop short of 100 percent charged.



Aug 14, 2020 12:41 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for replying, but:


1) One of the selling points is up to 10 hours battery life when browsing or watching Apple TV. I'm getting around 6 hours.


2) I noticed the issue when I was using my laptop, and had no AC power near by, and since then I've been testing without an AC power as I do wanna know if my laptop has a battery life issue.


3) For a brand new £2400 laptop, I except a great battery life, specially when I need to work from places where I can't have access to an AC power.


Aug 14, 2020 8:44 AM in response to cin-

Editing Videos or photos were Not the sorts of activities Apple tested when they tested this machine for battery life.


Chrome is a notorious resource hog, and has not been updated in any meaningful way for a long time now.


You could get longer battery life from using Firefox, much longer from Safari (because its features are more integrated with the system).


You should think of your MacBook Pro not as a battery-operated device, but as a battery-capable device. When near AC power, you should plug it in.

Aug 14, 2020 9:51 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Mr.



I've already told I tested by only browsing the internet, using Chrome and Safari, and it only goes up to 6 hours, maximum. This is a brand new laptop that cost me £2400!!!!


And I will say it again: My old MacBook Pro, with even more applications than the new one, had a better battery life.


I just want a reliable battery life laptop for when I need it. If Apple can't guarantee it, they have to stop promoting it as 10 hours battery life as sale point. I expect at least 5 hours battery life from a brand new super expensive laptop whilst using Lightroom.


I've only posted here to see if anyone else is having the same issue with battery life, that's all! I'm not asking for anyone to defend a corporation.

Aug 14, 2020 10:05 AM in response to cin-

These Apple User-to-User Community Forums are great for brainstorming and occasional problem solving with other users.


I am not an Apple employe, I am an Apple User, and I am not defending no corporation.


I am trying to tell you, User-to-User, that the experiment you set up is NOT reasonable, and that the "inadequate" results you obtain are expected, because the setup differs from what Apple tested when they made their claims of battery life.


Chrome is a well-known resource hog. Its consumption of everything in your Mac is infamous. You can not do web Browsing with Chrome and expect the same results Apple obtained for their marketing materials.


Lightroom was not used when testing battery life. It performance will not be no 10 hours. Not even close.

Aug 14, 2020 10:23 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder



As I mentioned on my last message, I'm NOT expecting 10 hours battery life using Lightroom, but I would expect at least 5 hours of battery life, which is not happening.

and I'm getting 6 hours when browsing.


I've already chatted with the support team. They ran all necessary tests and changes. My laptop was replaced. The battery life of the new one is a bit better now, but not great.


I repeat, I just wanna know if other users, with similar laptop configuration, are noticing the same issue with the battery life.


At moment I'm using Safari, and the battery info is saying Safari is "using significant energy".


Thanks for your time.

MacBook Pro battery life

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