Erratic Battery Performance Keeps MacBook Pro Off Consumer Reports Buy List

Consumer Reports​ left the MacBook Pro off its recommended ratings list due to inconsistent battery performance, said the publication in its latest issue. It’s the first time a MacBook hasn’t been included in the Consumer Reports' recommended ratings, it said. The latest MacBook Pro laptop did well in display quality and performance, but models “varied dramatically” in battery life as results were highly inconsistent from one trial to the next, it said. In 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 3.75 hours in the third, said the testing publication. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. Typically, a laptop’s battery life may vary from one trial to another by less than 5 percent, it said, and testers average measurements to arrive at a final battery life score. “With the widely disparate figures we found in the MacBook Pro tests, an average wouldn’t reflect anything a consumer would be likely to experience in the real world,” it said. The publication used the lowest battery life scores because “it’s the only time frame we can confidently advise a consumer to rely on if he or she is planning use the product without access to an electrical outlet.”