New MacBook Pro Throttling Confirmed By Apple, Fix Incoming

Apple recently refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup and the new models include a configuration with the Intel Core i9 processor. A YouTube video posted by tech reviewer Dave Lee last week suggested that perhaps the new MacBook Pro was facing throttling issues due to the design of the laptop. It was automatically throttling the speeds in order to prevent the machine from overheating. Apple has acknowledged the issue and confirmed that the issue can be fixed with a software update that’s rolling out later today.

It was revealed that the new MacBook Pro was running so hot that the 8th Gen Intel Core processors were being throttled down to its base speed. Apple has confirmed that this issue is caused by a software bug. It also said that “We apologize to any customer who has experienced less than optimal performance on their new systems.”

Apple tells The Verge that it discovered the issue after Lee’s video emerged. The results shown were not witnessed in Apple’s own testing. The further added that the throttling behavior was only exhibited under specific, highly intense workloads which is why this bug wasn’t picked up prior to the notebook’s release.

The issue was blamed on a “missing digital key” in the firmware which impacts the thermal management system and results in clock speeds being driven down under heavy thermal loads. The bug is present on both the 13 inch and 15 inch models of the new MacBook Pro on any Intel processor configuration.

It’s rolling out a fix for this issue in today’s High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update. The company says that the 15 inch MacBook Pro will be up to 70 percent faster while the 13 inch model with Touch Bar will be up to 2X faster as depicted in the performance results on its website.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Computers
Tags: Macbook Pro