Users are urged to update their Macs as soon as possible

Jul 24, 2018 18:09 GMT  ·  By

Apple today released a Supplemental Update for the macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 operating system to fix CPU thermal throttling issues in the new MacBook Pro 2018 models with Touch Bar and Intel Core i9 processors reported by some users.

On July 12, 2018, Apple announced the updated MacBook Pro 2018 line-up with up to 32GB of RAM, 8th Generation Intel Core processors, True Tone display, and Apple's T2 chip to support "Hey Siri." The first to purchase the new MacBook Pro 2018 laptops were also those who were the first to write reviews of the new machines, and discovered that they overheated during some heavy workloads, as reported in this video by Dave Lee.

While many thought that the new MacBook Pro 2018 models have a bug in the style of the infamous iPhone 6/6s and 7 CPU throttling drama, Apple confirmed today that there was a software issue due to a "missing digital key" in the firmware installed on the new machines. As such, the company released a macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update to fix the bug and improve the stability and reliability of MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2018) computers.

Apple apologizes for the issue, recommends users to update their Macs

As you might imagine, Apple apologized for the issue and recommended all MacBook Pro 2018 owners to update their computers to the macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update (builds 17G2208 and 15P6703) as soon as possible, promising them that after the update their new Macs will be up to 70% faster for the 15-inch MacBook Pro 2018 models and up to two times faster for the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2018 models.

  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.  

To update your MacBook Pro 2018 to the macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update, open the Mac App Store application and go to the Updates tab. Refresh the tab with the Command+R keyboard shortcut if it doesn't refresh automatically and the new macOS update should be displayed on the list of available updates. Download and install the update by clicking on the "Update Now" button.