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Tag: Consumer Reports

  • Consumer Reports testing highlights iPhone 15 Pro Max’s durability

    Consumer Reports testing highlights iPhone 15 Pro Max’s durability

    Following last week’s event wherein the YouTube channel JerryRigEverything noted that the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s back component could be cracked by bending it with your hands, some speculation has been raised as to the durability of the new titanium frame. It was also noted that the smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro did not crack in the same way.

    Following up on this, the reliable humans at Consumer Reports performed a battery of tests on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max handset, and determined that it did not crack under the pressure. Consumer Reports was one of the leading critics of the iPhone design back when the iPhone 6 ‘#Bendgate’ was a thing.

    Prior to testing, it should be noted that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max design sandwiches the display and the frosted rear glass with a titanium frame around the sides. The titanium is fused to an internal aluminum chassis. Titanium is a strong material, but people have wondered whether the rounded edges where the titanium meets the glass make the glass more prone to breaking or cracking, than the 14 Pro flat edge design.

    Per the Consumer Reports video, the new handset was subjected to compression tests wherein a machine applied 100 pounds of pressure across the length of the device. The phone flexed and then recovered after the pressure was released, but there were no cracks to be seen.

    @consumerreports

    Viral videos claim Apple’s new flagship phone cracks easily. That’s not what our labs found. Learn more through the link in our bio. #bendgate #iphone15promax #techtok #newphone

    ♬ original sound – Consumer Reports

    Consumer Reports also tested the iPhone 15 Pro Max handset in a drop test machine, wherein a tumbler drops the handset onto a stone base 100 times in succession. The handset survived with no damage.

    Still, if you’re able to get your hands on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max at this early stage of the game, please be careful with it, maybe buy it a nice protective case, and enjoy your cool new iPhone.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac, Consumer Reports, YouTube, and TikTok

  • Consumer Reports retests 2016 MacBook Pro, now recommends the notebooks

    Following a retest, Consumer Reports has given the 2016 MacBook Pro its recommendation.

    The change comes after retests wherein the publication and Apple worked together. fter becoming aware of a Safari bug that may have impacted results, Consumer Reports recently started retesting on a newer build of macOS Sierra in which the bug was supposedly fixed.

    Following the original tests, Consumer Reports cited that the notebook’s battery life was too varied to recommend the machines. Apple argued the point as well as the fact that the specific tests CR had run they uncovered an “obscure and intermittent” bug within Safari.

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  • Apple, Consumer Reports find smoking gun that caused variable life in initial review

    Apple and Consumer Reports may have figured out what caused the poor battery test results that Consumer Reports highlighted during its review.

    On Tuesday, both companies released reports stating that a developer setting had been activated that typical users don’t use during testing, and also that the same setting has a bug that affects performance.

    In its review of the MacBook Pro, Consumer Reports said its battery life test results varied wildly, from 4 hours to 19 hours. Consumer Reports explained on its website that its notebook battery tests do not necessarily reflect real-world usage; instead, tests are designed to be consistent across different notebook for comparison’s sake. In the case of the MacBook Pro, Consumer Reports’ battery tests uses Safari in Developer mode, which is not the default setting.

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  • Consumer Reports stands by its 2016 MacBook Pro battery test results

    Consumer Reports is standing by its findings regarding the 2016 MacBook Pro battery’s sporadic performance.

    The publication’s director of electronics testing, Maria Rerecich, offered the following comment when asked about possible retesting:

    In this case, we don’t believe re-running the tests are warranted for several reasons. First, as we point out in our original article, experiencing very high battery life on MacBooks is not unusual for us – in fact we had a model in our comparative tests that got 19 hours. Second, we confirmed our brightness with three different meters, so we feel confident in our findings using this equipment. Finally, we monitor our tests very closely. There is an entry logged every minute, so we know from these entries that the app worked correctly.

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  • Apple says it will work with Consumer Reports to isolate potential battery issues found in 2016 MacBook Pro

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    Following up on Consumer Reports refusal for the first time to recommend the 2016 MacBook Pro due to inconsistent battery life, it looks like Apple will be working with the publication to try to sort out potential issues with the battery.

    “Working with [Consumer Reports] to understand their battery tests,” Apple Vice President of Worldwide Marking Phil Schiller tweeted. “Results do not match our extensive lab tests or field data.” Apple claims its internal testing has seen the new MacBook Pro providing up to 10 hours of battery life when watching iTunes movies or browsing the web.

    Consumer Reports’ test has come under scrutiny since publication of the non-recommendation. The tests were conducted by opening a series of 10 web pages sequentially on Safari. This tests’ inconsistency had the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar registering 16 hours, 12.75 hours and 3.75 hours of battery life. A 15-inch MacBook Pro ranged from 18.5 hours to 8 hours of battery life.

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