Consumer Reports v. Apple: It’s About Trust (Premium)

When Consumer Reports refused to recommend the new MacBook Pro because of battery issues, Apple shot back and said there was nothing wrong. But now they’ve released a software fix that addresses the problem. And because they’re Apple, they’ve further accused the publication of messing up its tests by using a “hidden” setting.

As you may recall, Consumer Reports in late December refused to recommend the new MacBook Pro laptop because of battery life issues. This was the first time any MacBook did not receive a recommended rating from Consumer Reports. And Consumer Reports’ findings mirrored complaints that it correctly noted were “popping up online since the laptops first went on sale in November.”

The new MacBook Pro is arguably the most controversial product Apple has ever released, and it does not meet the needs of the Pro market it targets in any way. Many, myself included, feel that Apple went too far with “form over function” with this one, and that the firm’s collective hubris prevented them from understanding how far off they really were.

But this is Apple. They don’t apologize, and they certainly don’t fix things that critics say are broken. The “you’re holding it wrong” attitude of the iPhone 4 Antennagate event being the most famous example. But Apple’s reaction to Consumer Reports—a trusted consumer advocacy group that millions of people rely on for good reason—and others complaining about the battery was particularly amazing.

Apple removed the “time remaining” clock in the Mac display so that users could no longer see how well the battery was performing. (It still displays a percentage gauge, but not the time estimate.)

Yes. Really.

This week, a new chapter in the Apple v. Consumer Reports battle opened up. Consumer Reports says that Apple has addressed a software bug that causes the errant battery results, which makes sense. But Apple says that Consumer Reports’s tests are bogus because the publication uses a “hidden” setting that it says impacted the results.

Before continuing, I will just point out that Consumer Reports was using this same “hidden” setting when it tested and recommended all previous MacBook laptops.

So. What’s the truth?

First up, Apple.

“We learned that when testing battery life on Mac notebooks, Consumer Reports uses a hidden Safari setting for developing web sites which turns off the browser cache,” an Apple statement reads. “This is not a setting used by customers and does not reflect real-world usage. Their use of this developer setting also triggered an obscure and intermittent bug reloading icons which created inconsistent results in their lab.”

So, the problem was a hidden setting. Got it.

“After we asked Consumer Reports to run the same test using normal user settings, they told us their MacBook Pro systems consistently delivered the expected battery life. We have also fixed the bug uncovered in this test. This is the best pro notebook we’ve ever made, we respect Consumer Reports and we’re glad they decided to revisit their findings on the MacBook Pro.”

Here, Apple claims that not using the hidden setting—which again was used in recommending all previous MacBooks—fixed the problem. It then noted that it also fixed an unrelated bug that was uncovered during testing. And gosh, is it proud of the new MacBook Pro.

Oh, Apple.

Here’s how Consumer Reports describes this same event.

“Apple has just issued a software fix through its Beta Software Program to address an issue that arose when the company’s new MacBook Pro laptops were being tested in Consumer Reports’ labs … After investigating the issue, Apple says that the variable battery performance we experienced is a result of a software bug in its Safari web browser that was triggered by our test conditions.”

So Consumer Reports says that Apple says that a software bug caused the battery problems, even though that’s not what Apple has said publically. The issue was not caused by Consumer Reports’s use of a “hidden” setting. If true, Apple is lying.

But what does Consumer Reports say about that hidden setting?

“We turn off caching as part of Consumer Reports’ standard laptop test protocol,” the firm explained. “Caching is a feature used by many computers to store Web pages locally on a hard drive for faster retrieval by the browser … In our tests, we want the computer to load each web page as if it were new content from the internet, rather than resurrecting the data from its local drive. This allows us to collect consistent results across the testing of many laptops, and it also puts batteries through a tougher workout.”

That makes sense.

And looking at Safari, you can see that Apple claims this is a developer feature because they put the option “Disable Caches” under a Developer menu. Chrome behaves similarly. But Consumer Reports’s usage of this feature makes sense given their role. So the “developer setting” bit is a misdirect.

Anyway, Consumer Reports is retesting. But again, they’ve said that it was Apple’s bug fix that solved the battery life issues, not that hidden developer setting.

So who are you going to trust? Which do you believe?

You should believe Consumer Reports, of course. Remember, the two sides in this battle are a non-profit consumer advocacy group and a company with a history of continual lying and braggadocio. Please, do weigh those options.

But there is one more thing.

When I think about the culture at Apple and the fanboyish nature of the blogs and websites that fawn all over this company, I can’t help but compare it to what I see over here on the Microsoft side of the fence. And what I see makes me happy, and helps me sleep at night.

Sure, we have our fanboys too, and I will continue to mock them incessantly. But when you think about the work that I and others do on behalf of users, and not the company whose products we all use, you have to at least admit that our hearts are in the right place. In other words, you can read something like my latest editorial, The Ability to Pause Updates in Windows 10 Isn’t Enough, and agree or disagree. But you know that I’ve got your back regardless. I’m not a Microsoft cheerleader. If I root for anything, it’s for the people who use Microsoft products and services.

With that in mind, pay attention to how the Apple blogs cover this one. I bet they fall over each other defending Apple.