Apple’s been raked over the coals for messing up the new MacBook Pro, first over the keyboard and later over its thermal throttling. While there’s not much to be done about the former, the company has already sent out a fix for the latter.
To recap, the 2018 MacBook Pro got released recently with a heavy focus on performance. A YouTube reviewer named Dave Lee soon discovered that the laptop has a tendency to get very hot when it’s being pushed to extremes, like when it’s performing resource-intensive tasks such as 4K rendering.
Apple’s software automatically throttled the notebook’s CPU speeds so it couldn’t reach peak performance. This naturally didn’t sit well with consumers who were expecting a premium 8th-gen Intel Core experience.
Apple Apology and Fix
Nearly a week after the controversy erupted, Apple has issued an acknowledgment and an apology. It seems a missing digital key in the thermal management system is to blame. The company told The Verge it only discovered the problem after it conducted fresh tests in the aftermath of Lee’s video.
Apple representatives are stressing that the throttling only arises under specific, high-intensity workloads. It claims this is why it didn’t squash the bug prior to release. This is a bit hard to believe since the brand has gone out of its way to claim that the 2018 MacBook Pro can handle heavy-duty workloads.
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In any case, a new macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update is rolling out right now with a fix for the issue. Both the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models will benefit from it. CNET installed the upgrade and reports that the thermal throttling has stopped.
Even better, the CPU’s clock frequency and internal temperature are both stable and not spiking up and down like before. This leaves the keyboard as the 2018 MacBook Pro’s other major risk. The part is said to be better at repelling particles and preventing breakdowns, but isn’t completely dust-proof.