• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechApple

Consumer Reports Just Changed Its Mind About Apple’s MacBook Pro Laptops

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 12, 2017, 8:44 PM ET
Apple Inc. Debuts New MacBook Computers
Attendees view new MacBook Pro laptop computers during an event at Apple Inc. headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Apple Inc. introduced the first overhaul of its MacBook Pro laptop in more than four years, demonstrating dedication to a product that represents a small percentage of revenue. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDavid Paul Morris—Bloomberg via Getty Images

Consumer Reports has reversed course and given a thumbs-up to Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops after initially declining to give them a “recommended” rating.

The magazine, which rates and recommends consumer-oriented products, said Thursday that the latest versions of Apple’s MacBook Pro Laptops “now fall well within the recommended range in Consumer Reports ratings.”

Consumer Reports originally said in December that it wouldn’t recommend the new laptop after testing showed that its batteries sometimes failed to live up to Apple’s claims of a 10-hour battery life. In some cases, the testing showed the batteries lasted only lasted four hours.

This was the first time Consumer Reports has failed to recommend an Apple laptop.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The inconsistent battery results led to Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller saying on Twitter that Apple was “Working with CR to understand their battery tests” because the magazine’s test results did not match Apple’s own testing. Earlier this week, Apple said it had discovered a software bug that could have caused the Consumer Reports to get incorrect results during its tests, prompting the magazine staff to try again.

“The process we followed with Apple is the same process we follow with any manufacturer when we discover a significant problem,” Consumer Reports said about its recent re-test. “We shared our test results with the company so it could better understand our findings and deliver a fix to consumers. Since Apple made a fix, we retested the laptops.”

For more about Apple, watch:

Apple said the software bug was triggered by a” hidden Safari setting for developing web sites” that Consumer Reports used for testing the batteries. The consumer tech giant has now fixed the bug, and the patch “be a part of a broader Software Update available to all MacBook Pro users in a few weeks,” according to Consumer Reports.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

Grok logo with hand holding phone.
AIX
Elon Musk ex Ashley St. Clair says she’s considering legal action after xAI produced fake sexualized images of her
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 6, 2026
41 minutes ago
Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang speaking at CES on January 5, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Nvidia rolls out its latest, greatest AI chip platform
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 6, 2026
57 minutes ago
Tom Lee
InvestingMarkets
Why Wall Street permabull Tom Lee thinks we’re in the third great labor shortage era—and AI is an innovation like frozen food
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 5, 2026
15 hours ago
Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman
AIChips
After Nvidia’s Groq deal, meet the other AI chip startups that may be in play—and one looking to disrupt them all
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 5, 2026
17 hours ago
A man works at a table with a laptop on it. A projector in the background displays code.
AIwork productivity
Experienced software developers assumed AI would save them a chunk of time. But in one experiment, their tasks took 20% longer
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 5, 2026
20 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Crystal Ball: Will the AI bubble burst or balloon in 2026?
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 5, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Janet Yellen warns the $38 trillion national debt is testing a red line economists have feared for decades
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 5, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Experienced software developers assumed AI would save them a chunk of time. But in one experiment, their tasks took 20% longer
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 5, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
CEO of $90 billion Waste Management hauled trash and went to 1 a.m. safety briefings—‘It’s not always just dollars and cents’
By Amanda GerutJanuary 3, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Bosses are fighting a new battle in the RTO wars: It's not about where you work, but when you work
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry says toppling of Venezuela’s Maduro will weaken Russia’s global standing as its oil ‘just became less important’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 5, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Under Biden, America got 150 countries to agree a 15% global corporate tax. Under Trump, America gets an exemption
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressJanuary 5, 2026
13 hours ago