A first! CR finds new MacBook Pro a no-go

For the first time, Consumer Reports said it cannot recommend people purchase Apple’s new MacBook Pro.

The product-testing publication said it did so because of the laptop’s “highly inconsistent” battery life.

In three consecutive tests, one 13-inch MacBook Pro model ran for 16 hours in the f irst trial, 12.75 hours in the second and just 3.75 hours in the third, the publication said of the recently released line, which starts at $1,499.

It added that battery life for the 15-inch laptop it tested ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours.

“This is a real departure from past MacBooks,” CR reported. “Most Apple laptops have scored well in our battery test, typically lasting much longer than the manufacturer has claimed.”

By way of example, the product tester said an earlier MacBook Pro model lasted 19 hours.

Apple didn’t comment to CR or The Post about the erratic performance of batteries in the new MacBook Pro series.

The Apple Store Web site assures would-be buyers of the laptop of “up to 10 hours of battery life” between charges.

CR added that a laptop’s battery life typically varies from one trial to another by less than 5 percent.

But the batteries in the new MacBook Pros generated such “widely disparate” test figures, CR said, it opted to use only the lowest in calculating final scores.

“It’s the only time frame we can confidently advise a consumer to rely on if he or she is planning to use the product without access to an electrical outlet,” CR said in a blog post published late Thursday.