Apple May Have Quietly Addressed 'Flexgate' in 2018 MacBook Pros - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple May Have Quietly Addressed 'Flexgate' in 2018 MacBook Pros

iFixit reports that Apple may have already taken steps to reduce the likelihood of 2018 MacBook Pro users experiencing display lighting issues dubbed Flexgate. Affected machines could see uneven lighting that looks like a "stage light" effect with the display potentially failing completely over time.

macbook pro flexgate
iFixit was tipped off by MacRumors forum user Olivia88 posting in our Flexgate megathread that their 2018 13" ‌MacBook Pro‌ appeared to have a longer cable than previous models. iFixit confirmed this finding:

Since we were just wrapping up writing the repair manual for the 2018 model anyway, we checked inside our 2018 15” MacBook Pro again to measure its cable against its 2016 predecessor—and found the 2018 cable was, in fact, a full 2mm longer. Since this change appears in both our 15” model and Olivia88’s 13” model, it’s plausible this change is present in multiple, if not all, 2018 MacBook Pros.

iFixit speculates that this could prevent some of the wear and tear that had previously caused the failure though they weren't able to say for certain.

Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue, and our Flexgate guide covers what your options are if you are affected by this issue.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

RIP, MacBook Ultra

Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by
Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name. The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display family lineup feature

Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new high-end MacBook Pro, which is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. The new device has a PROLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, and a glowing rear Apple logo. Pricing on the MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model. Apple says the MacBook Pro has the "world's best display in a pro laptop." The PROLED...
Apple MacBook Pro 14 in with M6 hero

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M6 Chip

Tuesday October 27, 2026 6:01 am PDT by
Apple today announced a refreshed 14-inch MacBook Pro featuring the M6 chip, upgraded connectivity specifications, and more. The M6 chip in the MacBook Pro features a 12-core CPU with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores, paired with a 12-core GPU. This is up from the M5 chip with a 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores, paired with a 10-core GPU. M6...

Top Rated Comments

100 months ago
let's see... Broken keyboards, flexgate, graphics glitches, T2 chip fiasco.
Anything is working properly in their Macbook "Pro"?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
100 months ago
so only 2018 models are different and address the issue? 2016/2017 are due to break sometime?
Yep.

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trifid Avatar
100 months ago
Let's see...all these "problems" were only mentioned by a few people here and there online, and never gained any traction, sign that are probably issues that occur very very rarely, nothing systemic. So I would venture to say that 99% of MacBook "Pro" are probably working properly? Mine is, and the ten of thousands my company provides to its employees are at least, we all use Touch Bar MBP at this point and I never saw people suffering these issues, aside from a couple of colleagues having issue with a key on the keyboard. I am sure someone suffered these issues, like it happens with all man made items, but pretending these are serious widespread issues...sign of the times I guess.
Read the flexgate thread, this user lokitech posted the following:

“...I work for a company that uses only Apple product and in the year 2016, we brought 160 laptops MacBook Pro 15 top model then out of 160 laptops so far 20 laptops are affected with this display flex cable issue not sure how many would be further and 56 laptops are affected with the keyboard issue...”

By his report alone, it would be around 12% failure rate for flexgate, but it can only get worse with time, the more you open/close the more wear and tear. The issue is significant, Apple needs to issue a repair program.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
100 months ago
No issues here. Outstanding laptop.
My 2017 13-inch - less than a year in: spacebar is starting to be sticky, graphics is going crazy in Fusion/Resolve.
The worst is the glitches are being rendered, not only displayed :(
Counting Powerbooks I'm probably on my Apple laptop #20. Absolutely no problems before.
They are not only completely not reliable anymore, they are more expensive every year.
As someone mentioned in another thread - you can get 64GB of RAM in a Lenovo P1 for almost the same money
Apple wants for 32GB (64GB not available). 32GB in Lenovo is 3x less expensive. Same RAM.
We are talking probably the most expensive PC brand.
Better screens, better graphics, 64GB RAM. All that for much less money.
When MBP was a great reliable machine, I paid the Apple tax. Now - it simply makes zero sense.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
c0ppo Avatar
100 months ago
Everything is working in mine.
People with problems are obviously more vocal about it.
Yup. Those pesky unsatisfied owners should keep their mouths shut. They are hurting dear, old and poor Apple!

/s
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sracer Avatar
100 months ago
Hey, let’s face it. Apple IS a premium product. I pay a little more because I expect more.

My last MBP suffered a screen failure less than a month after the warranty expired. Pay up, sucker was all I got. Still, I didn’t beat feat. I AM a die hard fan. I admit it. The general public, not so much. The road Apple is going down kinda reminds me of Sears, or Sony at their peak. Hubris. The fan boys like me will come back, the general public won’t stand for it as long. Fan boys will tolerate a lot more than the general public. In the long run, it will cost them.

It’s a shame, it’s still a decent product, but the issues with my last MPB did leave a bad taste in my mouth and had I not been one of the “flock” I probably would have gone elsewhere for my newest laptop. Given the control Apple has over the software across the spectrum of devices offered does help. 99% of the time, this stuff works.

But, I feel as though I’m paying for a Lexus or Infinity of the computer world. I should get service commiserate with the coin I lay out...
And as long as you continue to pay for that level of quality and don't receive it, Apple has no incentive to do anything differently.

Most Apple customers are not much different than the hardcore fans. They're locked into the ecosystem and while they grumble about things like the loss of the headphone jack on the iPhone, a notch, high prices, they still buy the product. There's a current dip in iPhone sales due to the high price, but that is only temporary. Those holdouts will need to replace their iPhone... if not this past cycle, then the next. They'll bite the bullet and pay the price because there is no other option for them (and Apple will discontinue the older, cheaper models).

I continue to be perplexed as to why so many come to Apple's defense whenever the awareness of a defect is raised. Looking at the trackrecord of such customer reports, when was the last time that such a report of a hardware issue turned out to be nothing?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Hands-On With the New Apple TV 4K and Siri AI
Hands-On With the New Apple TV 4K and Siri AI
9 hours ago
Siri AI Coming to Older Apple TV 4K Models in tvOS 27.2.1
Siri AI Coming to Older Apple TV 4K Models in tvOS 27.2.1
9 hours ago
HomeView Launch Kicks Off as First Orders Reach Customers
HomeView Launch Kicks Off as First Orders Reach Customers
10 hours ago
Apple Continues to Move Up iPhone Duo Delivery Dates
Apple Continues to Move Up iPhone Duo Delivery Dates
13 hours ago
Apple Explains How HomeView Keeps Camera Data Private
Apple Explains How HomeView Keeps Camera Data Private
14 hours ago
Apple Releases Updated HomeView Software 27.2 Before Launch
Apple Releases Updated HomeView Software 27.2 Before Launch
14 hours ago
Apple Adds Samsung Foldables to Trade-In Program
Apple Adds Samsung Foldables to Trade-In Program
17 hours ago
Apple Sports App Now Features UFC
Apple Sports App Now Features UFC
17 hours ago
Trump Says Tim Cook Should Be Nvidia CEO as Jensen Huang Resigns
Trump Says Tim Cook Should Be Nvidia CEO as Jensen Huang Resigns
17 hours ago
Apple Releases Emotional 2026 Holiday Ad Featuring MacBook Neo
Apple Releases Emotional 2026 Holiday Ad Featuring MacBook Neo
17 hours ago
Apple's Official iPhone 18 Pro Cases and Watch Bands Get Big Discounts on Amazon
Apple's Official iPhone 18 Pro Cases and Watch Bands Get Big Discounts on Amazon
18 hours ago
Nintendo to End 'Sign in With Apple' Support in January
Nintendo to End 'Sign in With Apple' Support in January
18 hours ago
Walmart Black Friday Sale Begins With Early Deals on TVs, Laptops, and More
Walmart Black Friday Sale Begins With Early Deals on TVs, Laptops, and More
18 hours ago
Apple Says HomeView Software Update Coming Next Month With Siri Fix
Apple Says HomeView Software Update Coming Next Month With Siri Fix
19 hours ago
Review: Is Apple's All-New HomeView Smart Home Hub Worth $299?
Review: Is Apple's All-New HomeView Smart Home Hub Worth $299?
19 hours ago
Apple Home Collection: Select Accessories Available to Order This Friday
Apple Home Collection: Select Accessories Available to Order This Friday
19 hours ago
'Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble' to Leave App Store This Month
'Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble' to Leave App Store This Month
20 hours ago
Apple's Johny Srouji Eyed to Replace Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
Apple's Johny Srouji Eyed to Replace Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
21 hours ago
Apple Support Community Deserved a Proper Goodbye
Apple Support Community Deserved a Proper Goodbye
1 day ago
Apple on Fatal Vehicle Crash Near Apple Park: 'Our Hearts Are Broken'
Apple on Fatal Vehicle Crash Near Apple Park: 'Our Hearts Are Broken'
2 days ago
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
2 days ago
Google Says Gemini App Rolling Out on Apple CarPlay Starting Today
Google Says Gemini App Rolling Out on Apple CarPlay Starting Today
2 days ago
Is It Worth Buying a Ceramic Apple Watch?
Is It Worth Buying a Ceramic Apple Watch?
2 days ago
Samsung Early Black Friday Event Brings Major Sales to Frame TVs and More
Samsung Early Black Friday Event Brings Major Sales to Frame TVs and More
2 days ago
iPhone 18 Pro Max Wins Battery Test Involving 32 Smartphones
iPhone 18 Pro Max Wins Battery Test Involving 32 Smartphones
2 days ago
AirTag 2 4-Pack Hits Record Low $69.99 Price Ahead of Black Friday
AirTag 2 4-Pack Hits Record Low $69.99 Price Ahead of Black Friday
2 days ago
Rumored Apple Smart Glasses Mentioned in Supplier's Earnings Briefing
Rumored Apple Smart Glasses Mentioned in Supplier's Earnings Briefing
2 days ago
Make Apple Watch Listen for Sounds Like the Doorbell
Make Apple Watch Listen for Sounds Like the Doorbell
2 days ago
Apple Chip Supplier TSMC Approves $1 Billion AI Investment
Apple Chip Supplier TSMC Approves $1 Billion AI Investment
2 days ago
'Apple Support Community' Permanently Closing on November 20
'Apple Support Community' Permanently Closing on November 20
2 days ago