Apple tested a MacBook Pro with a larger battery and gold casing as well as a Lightning Port equipped MacBook
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is said to of produced prototypes for a MacBook Pro with a larger, longer lasting battery and gold coloured casing as well as an updated MacBook built with ports for the iPhone’s Lightning cable however; both tested variations never made it out of the design studio.
In the run-up to the MacBook Pro’s planned debut this year, the new battery failed a key test, according to a person familiar with the situation. Rather than delay the launch and risk missing the crucial holiday shopping season, Apple decided to revert to an older design.
The change required roping in engineers from other teams to finish the job, meaning work on other Macs languished, the person said. The new laptop didn’t represent a game-changing leap in battery performance, and a software bug misrepresented hours of power remaining.
The news leaks as Apple’s Tim Cook says that the company has plans to introduce new desktop Mac hardware after doubts started to surface following a lack of updates to the full desktop line. The report from Bloomberg answers the question of why the late-2016 MacBook Pro launched without any major improvements to the battery life of the portable powerhouse, with some claiming in early December to get as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge. – Some users claimed to see better battery life after updating to macOS 10.12.2 last week, but Apple “repeatedly and emphatically” told Ars Technica there are no specific battery life improvements included in the update.