MacBooks will warn you when your display is sapping battery

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MacBook Pro
Is your MacBook's display brightness too high?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest macOS Sierra beta now warns MacBook users when display brightness is draining battery life.

The warning could help fans maximise usage in between charges by turning down brightness when it might not need to be so high.

Since OS X Mavericks debuted in 2013, Apple has been shaming Mac apps that drain battery life. Users simply click the battery indicator in the task bar and they’re greeted with a list of running apps that are sapping too much power.

The list is typically occupied by web browsers with multiple tabs open, and power-hungry apps like Photoshop or iMovie. In the latest release of macOS Sierra, version 10.2.3, Apple is adding display brightness to the list.

display-brightness-Sierra
Coming soon to Sierra.
Photo: MacRumors

It will appear when users have brightness set above 75 percent (at least 13 of the 16 levels available), according to MacRumorsClicking “Display Brightness” when it appears will automatically reduce brightness to 75 percent, helping to make the most of the battery life available.

This is the same brightness level Apple used during its most recent battery tests for the new MacBook Pro lineup, which promises to deliver around 10 hours of usage in between charges. However, many users have complained that they don’t get anywhere near that.

Consumer Reports actually said it couldn’t recommend the new MacBook Pro lineup because battery life was so poor and inconsistent during its initial tests. It has since reversed that decision after Apple fixed a Safari bug that was causing abnormal battery drain.

macOS Sierra version 10.2.3 is only available to beta testers for now, but it expected to make its public debut in the coming days.

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