The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro beat 18 Windows 8 laptops in a battery-life test conducted by Which?, the UK consumer test organization with a reputation for the most detailed testing in the industry.

which
In the web-browsing test where most laptops performed best, the Acer Aspire M5-581T was the longest-lasting Windows 8 machine at 358 minutes, while the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro lasted 30 minutes longer. The Which? test was primarily aimed at comparing Windows 8 machines, but they included two non-Windows machines as a contrast. The MacBook Pro topped the list, while a Samsung Series 3 Chromebook came out in the middle of the pack at 224 minutes.

The longest running Windows 8 laptop for web browsing is the Acer Aspire timeline Ultra M5-581T – a 15.6″ screen, 2.1kg ultrabook. It lasted almost six hours on battery – enough to get you to from London to Middlesbrough and back – and fell 30 minutes shy of the battery life of the 13″ Apple Macbook Pro Retina, but costs around £500 less.

If you switch to watching movies from the Acer’s hard disk, you’d get four hours and 37 minutes of movie viewing time – a little over an hour less than the Macbook.

Similar to Consumer Reports in the United States, Which? is known for scientific approach and detail in its testing. For example, product testers hook up laptops to lab gear to measure power consumption, use thermal imaging systems to measure heat and use light-measurement kits to test screen brightness.

Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

justperry Avatar
161 months ago
I would like to see the results after 100-300 cycles, see where they all are, might even see a bigger gap than the above results.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SPUY767 Avatar
161 months ago
I'd like to know if these were clean installs of Windows.

Windows can be very light when installed. Many of these OEMs load SO MUCH CRAP onto the systems, though. Trial AV may load on start (even if Win8 already has it built-in), some silly 3rd-party toolbar or dock may load on start. Maybe something like the Bing Desktop or Ask Tool bar or whatever loads on start.

"New" Windows computers sometimes ship with around 80 things in the Add/Remove Programs screen.
Probably tested as received, which is how it should be. 90% of people are just going to run windows with all the crapware on it because that's how it's set up when they buy it, so testing it in a theoretical setup that only a small percentage of people will use is a pointless test.

----------

More likely it's the 15" touch screen and the spinning disk in the Acer vs flash and 13" screen in the Mac.
Bad argument as the 15" screen gives more room for battery. It's been said that the latest chromebook has an unusual aspect ratio and rather large screen bezels for no reason other than to lessen the design constraints and to give them 100 lines of horizontal resolution so they can call it the "HIGEST RESOLUTION LAPTOP DISPLAY EVAR!!!!!111!11!". Oh, and we can't forget that the MBP is running a display with 4x the pixels, and a processor that's 50% faster.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rMBP13 Avatar
161 months ago
PC manufacturers still have a long way to catch up
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tankmaze Avatar
161 months ago
wow its that good huh. thanks to OS X.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ventilatedbrain Avatar
161 months ago
6.4 hours huh?
my 4.5 year old thinkpad t400 gets that now. got 10 to 12 new.

which? should do a comparison versus premium laptops, not acers and advents.
this is like comparing a ferrari to a prius in fuel efficiency.
sorry but that's the stupidest analogy I'm yet to read ... Comparing Ferrari to Prius in fuel economy ,. Well surely you mean the rMBP Is the Ferrari right ? In that case a fezza winning a fuel efficiency contest is excellent news for it
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
skaertus Avatar
161 months ago
I would like to know how the retina MacBook Pro would perform, in terms of battery life, running Windows 8 on BootCamp...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...