The exceptionally scary design flaw in Intel's processors (as well as other manufacturers silicon), that could put nearly all Mac, Windows, and Linux users at risk, appears to have been primarily addressed in the recent macOS 10.13.2 update.
Last week's macOS Sierra 10.12.2 software update squashed a number of bugs and patched a few newly discovered vulnerabilities, among them one that allowed an attacker to obtain your FileVault disk encryption password by plugging in a $300 Thunderbolt device into a locked or sleeping Mac.
As detailed by security researcher Ulf Frisk, attackers must have physical access to your Mac in order to exploit the vulnerability. The obtained password may be used to unlock your Mac's disk and access everything on it.
The macOS Sierra 10.12.2 software update, released three days ago, removes your Mac battery's time remaining indicator but owners of the new MacBook Pro won't see any improvements to their notebook's battery life as a result of the update.
As ArsTechnica noted, the company “told us repeatedly and emphatically that it had taken no specific steps to improve MacBook Pro battery life” with macOS Sierra 10.12.2.
Now, some people have reported seeing improved battery performance after installing the update on their MacBook Pro, but there's a reasonable explanation for that.
An annoying graphics glitching issue that some owners of the new MacBook Pro are seeing should become a thing of the past when macOS 10.12.2 Sierra software update releases for public consumption, according to a purported email message from Apple's software boss Craig Federighi.
Portland-based MacRumors forum member Dennis reportedly received a reply from Federighi after asking Tim Cook via email about the reported glitches, which range from screen tearing and broken textures to brightly colored flickering and checkerboard patterns to issues with translucency, transparent graphics and other visual artifacts.
Apple on Monday released iOS 10.2 beta 6, watchOS 3.1.1 beta 5 and macOS 10.12.2 beta 5. Developers can install the updates via the company's dev portal, or via each platform's respective OTA update mechanism, and both iOS 10.2 and macOS betas are available to public testers.
The new betas come one week after Apple seeded beta 4 to developers, and just a few days after iOS 10.2 beta 5 was released. The rapid rollout suggests we are close to seeing public versions of the software—likely before the iTunes Connect holiday shutdown coming up in 2 weeks.
Apple on Cyber Monday seeded new beta downloads to its registered developers who are enrolled in the Apple Developer Program. If you're a developer, iOS 10.2 beta 4 (build 14C82), watchOS 3.1.1 beta 4 (build 14S879) and macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta 4 (build 16C53a) are now readily available as standalone downloads through the company's portal for developers or as over-the-air downloads on devices with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile.