MacBook Pro battery life in 2011 vs 2026: how much has it really improved in 15 years?
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
In 2011, Nilay Patel’s video rundown test showed the 15-inch MacBook Pro delivered seven hours of battery life, a result we called pretty impressive at the time in our MacBook Pro review (early 2011). Fifteen years later, our MacBook Pro M5 Max 16-inch review showed that the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max lasted 30 hours and 46 minutes, more than four times as long. Yet the battery itself has only grown by about 30% from 77.5 watt-hours to 99.6 watt-hours.
The 2011 model’s 15.4-inch display and the 2026 model’s 16.2-inch screen make that duo the fairest comparison in terms of physical size. Between them, almost all the extra battery life comes from more efficient hardware rather than a bigger battery. Thanks to the standard power adapter jumping from 85W to 140W, the new model doesn’t just last much longer, it also charges dramatically faster.
The battery barely grew, but efficiency soared
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Apple markets the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s battery as 100 watt-hours, but its spec sheet gives the exact rating as 99.6. That’s 0.4 watt-hours under the FAA’s 100 watt-hour limit, above which passengers need airline approval to fly with a lithium-ion battery.
The 2011 model’s 77.5 watt-hour battery left it about 22 watt-hours under the FAA limit, but it was still heavier and thicker at 5.6 pounds and 0.95 inches. In contrast, the M5 Max model weighs 4.7 pounds and measures in at 0.66 inches. Apple has managed to fit a bigger battery into a body that’s about 16% lighter and 31% thinner. Unless there’s a change to FAA rules, however, efficiency is essentially the only way left to squeeze out more juice from the battery.
Apple used the same basic methodology for both ratings: browsing 25 popular websites over Wi-Fi. The 2011 test ran the screen at 50% brightness, though, while the 2026 test set it eight clicks up from the bottom. Dividing each battery’s capacity by Apple’s stated runtime, by our math, gives an average draw of about 11W for the 2011 model and about 6.2W for the M5 Max.
Our own rundown results show a steeper drop, from roughly 10.4W in 2011 to about 3.2W now. Our testing has changed a lot over 15 years, so those two numbers aren’t a perfect like-for-like, but they point in the same direction as Apple’s.
Faster charging, same lifespan
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The 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 140W USB-C power adapter, 65% more powerful than the 85W MagSafe adapter that came in the box in 2011. Apple says it’ll charge the 16-inch model to 50% in about 30 minutes; any USB-C charger rated at 140W or more can do the same with the right cable. However, the 2011 spec sheet doesn’t mention fast charging at all. Based on Apple’s figures, a half-hour top-up on the M5 Max buys about eight hours of web browsing, more than a full charge on the 2011 model.
Apple also states that batteries in both models are designed to manage 1,000 charge cycles before they drop to 80% of their original capacity. That hardly matters for a 2011 model, which can’t run anything newer than 2017’s macOS High Sierra; Mojave needs a MacBook Pro from mid-2012 or later.
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