MacBook Pro battery life in 2011 vs 2026: how much has it really improved in 15 years?
Apple's 2026 MacBook Pro is light-years ahead of its 2011 model in terms of performance. But is longer battery life one of those improvements?
In 2011, the 15-inch MacBook Pro boasted a battery life of seven hours, according to Nilay Patel's video. Fifteen years later, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max, in our review, can go for 30 hours and 46 minutes. Yet, the battery's size has only grown by roughly 30%, from 77.5 watt-hours to 99.6 watt-hours. The larger screen, from 15.4 inches to 16.2 inches, accounts for most of the additional battery life.
The 2011 model's battery was 22 watt-hours under the FAA's 100 watt-hour limit, whereas the 2026 model is just 0.4 watt-hours below that limit. Interestingly, the newer model is lighter at 4.7 pounds and 31% thinner, with a 0.66-inch profile. Despite the smaller battery, Apple has managed to fit it into a more compact body. Apple calculated an average power draw of about 11W for the 2011 model and 6.2W for the M5 Max, based on 25 websites browsed over Wi-Fi.
Our testing shows a larger drop, from roughly 10.4W in 2011 to about 3.2W now. The M5 Max comes with a 140W USB-C power adapter, nearly 65% more powerful than the 2011's 85W MagSafe adapter. The 2011 model doesn't mention fast charging, but a half-hour top-up on the M5 Max provides about eight hours of browsing, more than a full charge on the 2011 model.
Both batteries are rated for 1,000 charge cycles before they drop to 80% of their original capacity.
Written by urgent.news from Engadget's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
