Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

businessinsider.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 440 posts

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#21

Post by givinguflac »

otalp wrote: post #16
coob wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't seem fair to base a test on using Chrome when Apple bundles a more power efficient browser with the OS.

This is where it gets more bizarre. They did not use Chrome. According to their website: "We conduct our battery tests using the computer’s default browser—Safari, in the case of the MacBook Pro laptops." They proceed to find serious aberrations with battery life under Safari. Then they say, "Once our official testing was done, we experimented by conducting the same battery tests using a Chrome browser, rather than S…

Agreed, when I read they got longer results with chrome I did a double take. It's never even been close in my experience so clearly they screwed something up in safari.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#22

Post by robarr »

Daviey wrote: post #14

I'm not really a fan of Mac's, but I don't think too much weight should be put on this. Everything that Apple delivers is greeted with negative reports, and yet it turns out to be successful. Also... i've never even heard of "Consumer Reports" before.. but the name is pretty subjective.

god, you must be young :-)

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#23

Post by TorKlingberg »

coldtea wrote: post #6
otalp wrote: post #2

> For instance, in a series of 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 just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours. What could possibly the reason for such drastic…

When they say: "ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third" they don't mean that each of the three trials consists of the same load. The mechanism sounds highly random too: "Consumer Reports tests battery life using a real-world test: They turn on the laptop's screen and surf webpages using Chrome. It's not a test based on benchmarking software or watching video t…

Tests like this are always a choice between two problems, either it is artificial, can be gamed and doesn't represent real world usage, or it's not repeatable and insufficiently controlled. At least one of those criticisms always apply.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#24

Post by jmnicolas »

mmjaa wrote: post #19

I've had mine for a week now, and have been able to use it alongside my late-2014 rMBP, which has been a solid workhorse. I'm starting to notice very subtle preferences for the 2017 model creeping in - after an hour of typing, for example, going back to the old keyboard feels really, really inefficient and antiquated, and my typing rate is lower than on the new rMBP. I also really enjoy the Touchbar - it hasn't been…

You don't address the point of the article which is battery life though.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#26

Post by coldtea »

otalp wrote: post #12
coldtea wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When they say: "ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third" they don't mean that each of the three trials consists of the same load. The mechanism sounds highly random too: "Consumer Reports tests battery life using a real-world test: They turn on the laptop's screen and surf webpages using Chrome. It's not a test based on benchmarking software or watching video t…

From their website: "Consumer Reports tests hundreds of laptops each year, using identical procedures in highly controlled conditions. For the battery test, we download a series of 10 web pages sequentially, starting with the battery fully charged, and ending when the laptop shuts down. The web pages are stored on a server in our lab, and transmitted over a WiFi network set up specifically for this purpose. We conduc…

OK, now that I've read more than the derivative post, it seems that there's a software glitch in Safari.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#27

Post by otalp »

mmjaa wrote: post #19

I've had mine for a week now, and have been able to use it alongside my late-2014 rMBP, which has been a solid workhorse. I'm starting to notice very subtle preferences for the 2017 model creeping in - after an hour of typing, for example, going back to the old keyboard feels really, really inefficient and antiquated, and my typing rate is lower than on the new rMBP. I also really enjoy the Touchbar - it hasn't been…

I appreciate the fact that they made the keys on the pro much more clicker than the MacBook. The butterfly keys on them seemed unusable for serious typing, though I've only used them in stores, so perhaps it takes getting used to.

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#28

Post by mgkimsal »

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see a 32g model next year?

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#29

Post by izacus »

mmjaa wrote: post #19

I've had mine for a week now, and have been able to use it alongside my late-2014 rMBP, which has been a solid workhorse. I'm starting to notice very subtle preferences for the 2017 model creeping in - after an hour of typing, for example, going back to the old keyboard feels really, really inefficient and antiquated, and my typing rate is lower than on the new rMBP. I also really enjoy the Touchbar - it hasn't been…

> I've had mine for a week now, and have been able to use it alongside my late-2014 rMBP, which has been a solid workhorse. I'm starting to notice very subtle preferences for the 2017 model creeping in - after an hour of typing, for example, going back to the old keyboard feels really, really inefficient and antiquated, and my typing rate is lower than on the new rMBP.

For me it's the EXACT opposite - everytime I return to my 2014, it feel so much better and the strain on my hands is significantly lowered. The new keyboard just doesn't feel right or comfortable even after weeks.

> I also really enjoy the Touchbar - it hasn't been too intrusive, and binding ESCAPE to Caps Lock has been an acceptable re-configuration for me as a vim user.

For me the touchbar is empty 90% of the time. And I can't even put application shortcuts there :/

Re: Newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports

#30

Post by bpicolo »

mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Had one for about 10 days, returned it for a variety of factors, but overall, it was a nice machine. But for my workload, I think I'll move to a 2015 if I can get the config I want - should be ~ $1000 cheaper for about 95% of the benefit (some weight, some speed, retina screen, etc). $3700 ($3500 + tax) ended up feeling just a bit too much for the speed/value. Apparently, though, if I wait a bit longer, we might see…

3700 in what currency? I'm seeing 2900 USD fully specced (though definitely still absurd)

edit: I was looking at the 13, oops

Post reply on HN