However, our concerns about the near-two-grand prices of the two new 13-inch models stands – the off-the-shelf specifications don’t feature the Core i7 processor we were given to test, rather a 2.3GHz Core i5. Post-update performance from the Core i7 is a lot better, making its higher cost better value than we initially thought. That puts our 13-inch review unit’s eight-gen, quad-core i7 just ahead of the sixth-gen, quad-core i7 processor in our 15-inch MacBook from late 2016 – both have a 2.7GHz clock speed. The test took 2 hours 4 minutes without the update, and finished after 1 hour 32 minutes with the fix installed. This is expected, because the app pretty much maxes out all CPU cores during this test, and the pre-update throttling has clearly affected performance. However, Apple’s software update delivered a huge improvement in our HandBrake video export benchmark. There was no significant variation in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core CPU scores, and a reasonable 8% improvement in Cinebench’s CPU score, which rose from 621 points to 669. In light of this, we have rerun our tests. In fact, Apple's update isn't just for the Core i9 the issue affects all of the new MacBook Pros featuring eighth-gen Intel Core processors, including the quad-core kind in 13-inch models.

This update addresses a CPU throttling issue, which was suspected to affect the Core i9 processor that's available as a build-to-order option on 15-inch models.

Just a few days after our review was originally published, Apple released a supplemental update to macOS 10.13.6, specifically for 2018 models of MacBook Pro.

2016 macbook pro 13 battery life