[alcimedes]

So went to the Apple Store this weekend to have my machine looked at.

The fan noise thankfully has gone away, the absolute shit battery life has not.

While at the store, I was told that I could exchange my machine for a different make and model, but I couldn't just exchange my machine for the same hardware. (If I felt like the battery problems were specific to this machine.)

I have 14 days from the day of purchase to decide. As it stands, unless something drastic changes this machine is getting returned. A laptop with 3 hours of battery life while on a network and web browser (THAT'S IT!!) is worthless to me, regardless of any other features.

Given that I personally have found the new ports and new keyboard to both suck in addition to the shit battery life this hardware is experiencing, I think going with the previous hardware revision is going to be my best bet. The only feature on this machine I prefer to the old ones is the touchID to unlock stuff. If I have to trade useful battery life for typing in a password when required, I'm happy to type.

Funny thing?

The Genius said, off the record of course, that this was NOT the first 15" new MBP that had come in with users complaining of poor battery life. Mine was the third or fourth this individual had looked at. Sounds like the problems are not restricted to just me, but I don't trust today's Apple to do the right thing in a timely enough manner for me to be happy. I worry it will be a year+ before they fix or admit to the problem, and I don't want to be stuck with a laptop that can't be used as one for that long.