Apple’s newest computers will no longer have to bear the title of the first MacBooks not to receive Consumer Reports’ coveted seal of approval. After working with the company over the holidays to address irregular battery life tests, ranging from an extremely inconsistent 3.75 to to 19.5 hours, the publication has re-run tests to much better effect.
The new tests were run after Apple issued a fix to update what it referred to as an “obscure and intermittent bug” triggered by the publication’s policy of turning off browser caching for testing. The move, which the site implements on all the laptop it tests, is designed to simulate real-world browser use by loading different pages.
According to CR:
With the updated software, the three MacBook Pros in our labs all performed well, with one model running 18.75 hours on a charge. We tested each model multiple times using the new software, following the same protocol we apply to hundreds of laptops every year.
Under the new testing, the computers scored 15.75 hours for the 13-inch with Touch Bar, 18.75 for the 13-inch without and 17.25 for the 15-inch. “Now that we’ve factored in the new battery-life measurements,” the site writes, “the laptops’ overall scores have risen, and all three machines now fall well within the recommended range in Consumer Reports ratings.”
The initial results caused a bit of a stir online, making the Pros the first MacBooks not to earn the distinction, while recalling shades of Consumer Reports’ part in 2010’s Antennagate. The software update can be downloaded through Apple’s Beta program.