Consumer Reports Now Recommends New MacBook Pro Following Retest With Updated Version of MacOS [Video]

Consumer Reports has given its recommendation to the new MacBook Pro following a retest of the device running an updated version of macOS.

The MacBook Pro initially failed Consumer Reports' tests due to erratic battery life. A subsequent investigation by Apple revealed a bug that only appeared when Safari caching was turned off. The company has seeded a build of macOS with that bug fixed and Consumer Reports has run its tests using the beta software.


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.

The new average battery-life results are 15.75 hours for the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, 18.75 hours for the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, and 17.25 hours for the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

"Now that we’ve factored in the new battery-life measurements, the laptops’ overall scores have risen, and all three machines now fall well within the recommended range in Consumer Reports ratings," said the site in a blog post.

The Safari bug is fixed in macOS Sierra Version 10.12.3 Beta (16D25a).