According to USA Today, Apple apologized Tuesday and issued a bug fix for thermal throttling performance issues on the latest MacBook Pro laptops that the company released just a couple of weeks ago. The issue had been raised by a YouTuber, Dave Lee, who complained that the 15-inch model with a Core i9 processor ran hot and was “way slower than it should be” during performance tests he ran rendering 4K video on Adobe Premiere.
Apple released the following rather technical statement: "Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we've identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro. A bug fix is included in today's macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended. We apologize to any customer who has experienced less than optimal performance on their new systems.”
The company added in its statement that “customers can expect the new 15-inch MacBook Pro to be up to 70% faster, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to be up to 2X faster, as shown in the performance results on our website," the same claims it has made since unveiling the pricey new models.
This isn’t the first time Apple has faced criticism with its premium laptops, which are typically employed by creative professionals. Complaints, and even a proposed class action lawsuit, were directed at Apple over allegedly defective keyboards on certain past MacBook Pros (and MacBooks). Apple previously indicated that it will repair such keyboards free of charge, assuming you have an eligible model.
Under this latest issue involving MacBook Pros, it appears Apple has nipped the problem fairly quickly.
