Apple confirmed on Tuesday that its new 2018 MacBook Pro computers were slowing down when they got too hot. The company said it was a bug, but a software update is available now that will fix the problem.
Here's Apple's statement to CNBC:
"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."
Apple announced its new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar earlier this month. On July 17, YouTube user Dave Lee published a video in which he said the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Intel Core i9 processor was slowing down when it started to get hot, specifically in apps like Adobe Premiere.
Apple worked with Dave Lee to replicate some of the issues he found and to build the fix that went out in an update earlier on Tuesday. The bug affected all models of the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, not just the Core i9 model used by Lee.
The bug does not affect earlier MacBook Pro models sold by Apple.
