AFTER I wrote about last week that the new Macbook Pros get really hot, Apple released a supplemental update for High Sierra to solve the problem.
"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. 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."
That’s what the statement from Apple said as reported by Macworld. And so far after that update, performance indeed was well within the thresholds for the i9 processor. Things got a little better indeed. The performance level that was expected out of a P200,000 plus laptop was now being experienced.
Dave Lee on YouTube, who, I believe, was the first one that reported about the throttling issue because of the heat, posted a video on his YouTube channel talking about life after the patch.
So, should you go out and buy one?
Well, if you nothing else to do with your money, by all means. But on a more realistic level, I’d stay away from this new line until they find a way to redesign the laptop. Yes, a redesign. The Macbook Pros are, yes, very beautiful to look at. Lightweight while packing the muscles to do heavy duty workloads for the pros. But because of its design to become lighter and more compact, it has become a laptop that can seriously have heat issues inside its chassis. Although, this may be true for a lot of those thin and light notebooks that packs so much power from any brand other than Apple.
Anyway, if you’re going to ask me what I’d recommend that you get, I’d say to get a 2016 year model that’s spec’d out to the max. If you’re able to find one like that, go for it. The power you get may not be at the same level as the current lineup but I’m pretty sure that you can manage the time to be able to work around its “slower” performance. Work smarter, they said.
So there goes the update.