Comment by rubyn00bie | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rubyn00bie | Hacker News Reader

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I've been using this feature for years successfully and with the understanding that if I context switch to something radically different the estimate would be wrong (in practice this meant waiting until it updated reflecting the new usage). I'm shocked that they think this is an appropriate solution to people complaining about battery life.

I find its removal very, very aggravating. My workflow is typically very consistent, e.g. terminal window open, iTunes playing, and a browser tab(s) or Xcode. It was useful to see "based on my current workflow, I have roughly 45 minutes of power remaining." It has always been accurate enough...

The percentage indicator means NOTHING to me, it is just as bad as the time indicator-- as most anyone with an iPhone can understand. How often does your 1% of battery last inexplicably longer than the previous 10%? I've had it last over an hour at 1%. WTF?

I also have found it to be a useful metric for seeing the condition of my battery or to help crackdown on rogue processes that are consuming too much power. E.g. "Why am I only seeing 4 hours remaining instead of the usual 6?"

I love MacOS, and iOS, but I'm really starting to hate Apple. Truly hate them. I feel trapped as I've yet to find a PC laptop I like as much as a Macbook Pro (largely because of the trackpad). I've been using Macs as my primary machines for 12 years... it makes me sad to feel this way but the "good" feelings I used to get seem like a distant memory.

I just bought a brand-new 2015 model 15 inch, which Apple still sells. Best laptop I bought, couldn't be happier. It's a lot less expensive, has all the ports, extraordinary 12 hour battery for me doing C++ in Emacs all day. Still has escape key for evil mode in Emacs. I thought about switching to a Windows machine, but I'm really glad I stayed with Apple on this one. I think time will tell on the most recent new models, and I bet Apple will address many of the complaints. Many people are not early adopters of any new release by any major manufacturer, specifically for this reason. The first iteration of major new designs by most super large companies are often met with a wide range of divergent opinions. I suspect Apple will be smart to listen to consumers and improve the next iteration of this current new model.

I've been using the same model, but I don't get 12 hour battery life. What is your brightness setting?

The 2016 seems to have a longer battery life and the screen is far brighter than the 2015 model which means one can run with the same brightness setting on lower power.

I agree that the screen is brighter in the new 2016. I never use screens at full brightness, it bothers my eyes. Emacs is very low power, so it uses a lot less battery than CLion or Eclipse, probably. That probably helps. I don't code to music, so that saves battery also.

Are you saying that 2016 has longer battery life than 2015? That seems contrary to the current scandal.

> Are you saying that 2016 has longer battery life than 2015?

Yes, that has been my reading and the review [1] confirms about 2 more hours than the 2015 15" model.

The brighter screen is relevant for battery use, because the laptop can run on even a relative dimmer setting with same brightness with perhaps even more battery life.

10.12.2 update seemed to fix problems for some people. Others were complaining not realizing high CPU of background processes. With new OS upgrade, e.g., 10.12.1 I do a clean install.

Incidentally, I think the 2015 model is an outstanding unit and a far better deal than the 2016 model and great for most people. The extra battery life and smaller, lighter is important for me.

[1] http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Late-2016-...

That's a rather interesting conclusion the review has on the battery. If that's true (which would be great), I wonder why there is such a controversy going on about the batteries, if actually they last longer than the prior models?

I think it is true. The tables in the article that show power draw for different tasks and models is informative. They compare the 2016 15" with the 2015 15" for idle, WiFi, X.264 video, etc.

I think a lot of people with new laptops didn't fully understand that spotlight indexing and other things were going on in the background. Also, it seems as if 10.12.2 update two days ago seems to have fixed problems for some. There is a macrumors forum note with lots of replies confirms this for some.

I am a fan of fresh installs with each new OS release and I think that and using Safari and not Chrome, using Ghostery and Adblock Plus (or whatever), and some other things I do to take out unnecessary processes makes a difference for me.

> I've been using Macs as my primary machines for 12 years... it makes me sad to feel this way but the "good" feelings I used to get seem like a distant memory.

I was in the same boat and bailed earlier this year. Check out the Dell Developer Edition Laptops[0]. I find the trackpad is about on par with the pre-force-touch trackpads from MBPs a year or two ago. Slightly loud/heavy click but tracks well and filters out unintentional palm input well. The rest of the hardware isn't bad, either. PCs have come a long way from cheap, creaky cases and weak, floppy hinges.

Add elementary OS to it and you're set :)

I agree with you. Those estimates were truly helpful and we could adapt in order to get more battery time. I don't feel good about Apple updates anymore. I used to be eager about beta tests and stuff, but nowadays I just hope they'll not touch anything else.

> I don't feel good about Apple updates anymore

I haven't felt good about Apple updates since leaving Snow Leopard... :(

I have the 2015 rMBP 15" basic model.

I constantly have activity monitor showing CPU in the dock to see if CPU consumption is increasing for some reason.

You can check the activity monitor CPU tab and the Energy tab for energy consumption issues. There are also 3rd party battery monitors (e.g., Coconut) which will tell you the up-to-date energy consumption.

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