macOS Catalina 10.15.2 may have fixed 16-inch MacBook Pro speaker popping

It seems that Apple has partially fixed the issue of speaker popping in the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the release of macOS Catalina 10.15.2.

According to MacRumors several of its readers, as well as a user on Reddit, have reported that installing the latest iteration of Catalina seems to have resolved the issue.

As the report notes, one elated user said:

Just installed it over 10.15.1, ran about 6-7 different loud Youtube songs, tried the skip ahead/right arrow, and stopping songs, NADA! FIXED!

However, another user reported that whilst the popping had been "significantly reduced" to something like a "minor crackle" the problem was still not totally fixed. Apple had previously admitted that there was indeed a software issue causing the 16-inch Macbook Pro's speakers to pop. Specifically, the issue was related to Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Quicktime, Music, Movies and really any other software that played audio, in particular when skipping and skimming. The reassuring point is that this is a software update that can be easily fixed by Apple.

As this report notes there does seem to be some suggestion that Catalina's latest software update has significantly improved the issue, and that some users are even suggesting the problem has been completely alleviated. As MacRumors notes, however, Apple did specify it would fix the problem in future "updates", which could suggest it may take more than one stab to get the problem totally under control.

Catalina 10.15.2 was released yesterday, December 10. Along with the usual general improvements to reliability and stability, it also brought some updates to Music, Stocks, News and Mail.