Items tagged with MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro has seen some interesting upgrades this year. Apple refreshed both the 13-inch and 15-inch models in July with newer hardware, then last week it added an AMD Radeon Pro Vega GPU option for users who need more graphics firepower. How much more firepower are we talking about? Some new benchmark data help answer that question. Customers have two discrete Vega GPU upgrade options for the MacBook Pro: Radeon Pro Vega 16 and Radeon Pro Vega 20. Before the mid-November refresh, the highest end graphics option was a Radeon Pro 560X GPU based on AMD's previous generation Polaris architecture....
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Two of Apple's most popular products over the past year could be subject to some rather nasty malfunctions according to the company. Apple has initiated replacement programs for both the 13-inch MacBook Pro (without Touch Bar) and the iPhone X, which was recently discontinued. In the case of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple warns that a "limited number" of systems with 128GB or 256GB SSDs could experience data loss and complete failure of the drive. Needless to say, this is a serious issue, especially if customers don't have a recently completed Time Machine backup. The company says that MacBook...
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Apple is often frowned upon in the tech world for many reasons, one of the major reasons being its famously closed ecosystem. Apple has often gone out of its way to ensure the use of approved accessories and software as well as ensuring if your device needs repair, you have to come to an Apple authorized service center. Apple's policy means you can’t simply order parts and fix your Apple gear, in many instances, as you would if you were using a Windows machine or Android smartphone. Apple famously did this with iOS 11.3 when it bricked iPhones with third-party screen repairs. Apple is now...
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Apple puts out one fire and then another pops up just a few feet away. That seems to be the case with its MacBook Pro family, with the latest flareup affecting both the iMac Pro and the 2018 MacBook Pros. The commonality between the two product lines (besides the operating system) is Apple's custom T2 security chip. On the 2018 MacBook Pro, the T2 chip runs the Touch Bar and includes a Secure Enclave for encrypted storage and secure boot. It also integrates the system management controller, SSD controller, and audio controller (among others) while also providing "Hey Siri" functionality....
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Although Apple often drags its feet when it comes to addressing any flaws in its products, the uproar over CPU throttling on the 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro was so loud that the company had to respond. The problem stems from the fact that MacBook Pros with the Intel Core i9 option were throttling to below-default clock speeds when running processor-intensive tasks. Dave Lee first brought attention to the thermal throttling, then publications like Apple Insider reproduced the throttling with their own testing. Apple is now officially confirming the issue, and is blaming...
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Owners of the latest MacBook Pro with Touch Bar are in for a rude surprise if the logic board inside their laptop gives up the ghost. Apparently Apple tweaked the design of the 2018 models in such a way that makes data recovery practically impossible when the system is no longer able to boot. Even Apple Store employees are not able to help. The issue relates to the soldering of the solid state drive (SSD) to the motherboard inside the MacBook Pro. Apple has been doing this for at least the past couple of years, though it also built a special tool to allow Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Serviced...
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It seems as though controversy is destined to stay with Apple these days. In recent months, Apple came under fire for its failure-prone keyboards on MacBook/MacBook Pro models, but that backlash was somewhat mitigated by a third-generation design that largely cures the problem. However, a new controversy is brewing over processor throttling on the new 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro with the Core i9 (Coffee Lake) processor option. YouTuber Dave Lee first brought attention to the problem earlier this week when he discovered that while under the load the MacBook Pro with Core...
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Apple has finally come clean about the keyboard on its 2018 MacBook Pro notebooks. Although we all knew why Apple put a silicon membrane under the key cap, the only "perk" that the company mentioned when announcing the new family of notebooks was that it is now quieter than the previous generation. However, a new leaked internal document confirms what iFixitfound after it began dissecting the 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro: it's meant to prevent keyboard failures from occurring on customer machines. The document specifically states: Keyboard and Keycaps The keyboard has a membrane...
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Mac fans were excited when Apple finally rolled out updated MacBook Pro notebooks. The updated machines have support for Intel Coffee Lake processors, up to 32GB of RAM, True Tone displays and tweaked third-generation keyboards. Among the Coffee Lake processor options available is a high-end Core i9 part. A report has surfaced this week suggesting Apple didn't design the cooling system of the MacBook with enough chill to support that hot processor. YouTuber David Lee has made a video of a MacBook with a 2.9GHz six-core Core i9 processor inside that can hit up to 4.8GHz with Turbo Boost enabled....
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If you have any aspirations of buying a 2018 MacBook Pro and performing repairs on your own (should the need arise) think again. As with many of Apple's products, the MacBook Pro is intentionally designed to keep users from mucking around inside. Apple is not alone in this regard, of course, but a recent teardown of the MacBook Pro highlights just how difficult it is to service one of these machines. It's not all bad—gaining access to the guts isn't terribly difficult, though you will need a special tool to remove the six pentalope screws on the bottom. Once you've done that, the bottom cover...
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Back in June Apple finally admitted that the keyboards on some of its MacBooks were failing prematurely and opened a program to replace those failing keyboards. The version of the MacBook keyboard that folks going through that replacement program have been getting is the version from 2017 that has slightly different markings on it. Recently, the updated 2018 MacBook launched and with the launch of those updated machines came another generation of keyboard. This new third-gen keyboard was found in a recent teardown to have a soft silicone membrane under the keys to prevent dust and debris from getting...
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Apple has taken more than a few hits to the chin over the keyboards used on recent MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks. Besides the fact that the keys have less travel than the keyboards that preceded them and can be annoyingly loud when typing, they are prone to malfunctions or failing completely when dust or crumbs make their way into the butterfly key mechanism. When Apple announced its 2018 MacBook Pro family yesterday, it said that the keyboards are now “quieter”, but it made no mention of actually resolving the problem with the failure-prone keys. Luckily, the...
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Apple has announced its 2018 refresh of the MacBook Pro family, and it brings some oft-requested updates. For starters, Apple is finally giving professionals a 32GB RAM option, doubling what was previously available to customers. Secondly, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is finally getting quad-core processors courtesy of a switch to Intel's 8th generation Coffee Lake architecture. For the 13-inch model, customers can choose from quad-core Core i5 or Core i7 processors, which have base clocks of up to 2.7GHz and can Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz. These processors feature Intel...
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Apple is kicking off its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) next week, and all eyes are on what new software and hardware products might be unveiled during the event. We know that iOS and macOS will take center stage at WWDC 2018, so here's what’s likely in store for observers. On the iOS side of things, Apple is reportedly going to avoid going overboard by introducing tons of new features with iOS 12. Instead, the company is more focused on improving performance and making the operating system less buggy. With that being said, there will be a few new additions like a new Digital...
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