8 Surefire Ways to Improve Your 2016 MacBook Pro’s Battery Life

MacBook Pro 2016

Image via Gear Patrol

Text Size
- +

Toggle Dark Mode

The signature component of the latest line of MacBook Pros is undoubtedly the Touch Bar, a vivid OLED strip that replaces the function keys. However, the Touch Bar, slim frame, and wealth of features have come at a cost to the MacBook Pro’s battery life. Apple rates its 2016 MacBook Pros for up to 10 hours of battery usage. Users, on the other hand, have complained of enjoying a meager 3-6 hours in real-world use, leading Consumer Reports to briefly withhold its recommendation from the current generation of MacBook Pro models for the first time.

Cupertino is surely tinkering away at software patches to mitigate this issue and it appears that the last month’s macOS Sierra 10.12.3 update fixed a few battery-draining bugs. The issue hasn’t gone away entirely however, as several users can attest.

Fortunately, there are a couple of improvements and tricks you can avail yourself of on your end in order to squeeze extra juice out of your MacBook Pro.

1. Watch Video in Full-Screen Mode

One neat and simple trick to extend your battery life is to turn off closed captioning and maximize your videos when watching them. Apple has designed its laptops to work in a low-power usage state when videos are played in full-screen mode.

2. Use Safari Instead of Chrome

Google Chrome is a notorious battery hog, despite the updates that are being continuously released. Safari is easier on your batteries, especially when it comes to MacBook Pros, because the browser has been designed not to use the power-hungry AMD graphics processor.

3. Dim the Screen

Lower brightness = lower power consumption.

4. Turn Off Unused Background Applications

Close applications as soon as you are done using them rather than leaving them running in the background. This goes for everything else as well, including the additional tabs in your web browser, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and even audio.

5. Turn on Software Update

Apple routinely releases patches and other enhancements to macOS Sierra that improve battery life. To receive these, click on Apple > About this Mac > Software Update

6. Use Energy Saver

Open Apple > System Preferences and select Energy Saver. The Energy Saver preference pane allows you to adjust your settings to optimize battery performance so that your MacBook dims the screen and operates on low-power mode when it’s using battery power.

7. Plug in and Power on Your MacBook When Using It to Charge Other Devices

When you’re using your MacBook Pro to charge your iPhone, it’s important to make sure that your laptop is both plugged in and powered on. If it’s powered off or in sleep or standby mode, your iPhone or other charging devices may end up draining your battery.

8. Remove All Dongles and Other Peripheral Accessories When Not in Use

Sponsored
Social Sharing