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Here’s how the new MacBook Pro battery life compares to its predecessors

Battery life looks like it will be strong with Apple’s new MacBook Pro notebooks. Now that Apple has officially revealed the 14- and 16-inch machines, let’s look at how the new MacBook Pro battery life compares to its predecessors.

The new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro notebooks come with either the new M1 Pro or M1 Max Apple Silicon chips that are set to offer the best performance yet from the company’s portables.

But Apple didn’t trade power for decreased battery life with the new notebooks, as the combination of M1 Pro/Max and macOS offer greater CPU performance than 8-core PC laptops while using 70% less power.

14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro battery life

  • The new 16-inch MacBook Pro offers 21 hours of video playback on a single charge
  • The new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers 17 hours of video playback on a single charge
  • Both new MacBook Pro models feature fast charging – 50% charge in 30 minutes
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When comparing to previous MacBook Pro notebooks, Apple says:

  • New 16-inch offers 10 hours longer video playback
  • New 14-inch offers 7 hours longer video playback

But keep in mind, these numbers appear to be against the former Intel MacBook Pro models. If you compare the new 14-inch MacBook Pro to the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, it features 3 hours less battery life for video playback – 17 hours vs 20 hours.

And here’s a more detailed look at battery life with wireless web use (new MacBook Pro machines in the two middle columns):

13″ MacBook Pro (2020)14″ MacBook Pro (2021)16″ MacBook Pro (2021)16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019)
Wireless web battery17 hours11 hours14 hours11 hours
Video playback20 hours17 hours21 hours11 hours
Included power adapter61W USB-C67W or 96W USB-C + MagSafe140W USB-C + MagSafe96W USB-C
Battery capacity58.2Wh70Wh100Wh100Wh
Fast charging

But no matter what you compare them to, the new MacBook Pro notebooks look like they should have phenomenal performance and battery life.

Catch up on everything Apple announced at its Unleashed event:

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Avatar for Michael Potuck Michael Potuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.