Just as the storm began to fade on the thermal issues plaguing the recent Core i9-equipped MacBook Pro, a new issue has flared up on YouTube. Owners of the 13 and 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro are reporting audible crackling sounds coming from the speakers on the premium laptops.
Apple frequently ends up in the firing line for one reason or another, but its record-breaking market cap can’t be ignored. The company made headlines late last year when it admitted to purposefully throttling older iPhones. The reasoning behind that eventual admittance of guilt pleased some, but the issues constantly arising with their recent line of MacBook Pro devices have been harder to justify.
The California-based tech giant is still reeling on the PR nightmare that was the heavy thermal throttling of its top-end Core i9 MacBook, with numerous outlets reporting that the issues would cause the machine’s speed to drop even below that of last year’s model when attempting to run a heavy workload – something the MacBook Pro line is basically made for. Now Apple have yet another problem making headlines: the speakers.
Bigging them up as capable of taking “listening to new levels” just last month, users are reporting very obvious crackling noises across a wide range of music tracks and media players. According to MacRumors, the issue occurs across both sizes of the 2018 MacBook Pro. The audible crackle even persists when running Windows through Bootcamp, suggesting that the issue lies in Apple’s speaker hardware itself rather than any particular software suite.
Take a look on YouTube and you’ll see numerous videos demonstrating the same problem. Apple didn’t return MacRumor’s requests for comment, but there are unconfirmed reports of a macOS Majave beta fixing the issue on one user’s device, and another suggesting Apple engineers have been made aware of the potential snafu.
