(My primary display, a 2560x1440 monitor, is supported using an Apple USB-C to HDMI adapter). I was pleased to find that the current v1.3, of the open source DisplayLink driver, supports my MacBook Air M1 in clamshell mode, and that I have no problem displaying internet videos on my DisplayLink-attached 1920x1080 external monitor. I used a StarTech USB32HD4K USB to HDMI 4K adapter: You'll need a Displaylink-certified USB-to-HDMI adapter. The 2nd external monitor is driven using 3rd-party DisplayLink drivers:.The first external monitor is driven using Apple's USB-C to HDMI adapter, or any of /en-ca/guide/macbook-air/apd8cdd74f57/mac, or your favourite USB-C dock with HDMI output.They might be waiting for a feature that’s been available since 2021.Like many, I did not fully appreciate my new MacBook Air M1 only supported a single external monitor, regardless of whether or not I splashed out on a new USB-C dock with dual HDMI interfaces. So if you know someone still using an Intel MacBook, you might make sure they are also aware that Apple silicon isn’t as limited as they might think. Turns out those few MBPs that are limited to just one extra screen confused a lot of people into thinking the limitation is universal. If you already knew that MacBook Pro models with Apple’s Pro or Max chips support multiple external displays, then this article isn’t for you. In reality, it can take on two additional screens. And someone can read “M3 MacBook Pro” and, because the M3 supports only one extra display, assume the notebook being discussed has the same limitation. It’s easy to refer to an “M3 MacBook Pro” when the notebook is really an M3 Pro MBP. “M1” is a single processor but the term also is used sometimes as shorthand for a family of processors: M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra. Part of the external display confusion stems from the way people tend to refer to Apple processors. It’s bad enough that Apple has a support document just to lay out how many external screens each MacBook Pro can connect to. This model supports only a single external display. Go with the M3 Max version instead, and the notebook supports up to four displays (three of these at 6K, one at 4K).īut because nothing can be simple, Apple also introduced a version of the MacBook Pro last month with the basic M3 processor. The newest MBPs with M3 Pro support two displays up to 6K at 60Hz. The cycle repeats with the M3 family introduced in October 2023. It has a basic M2, not a Pro or Max, so it offers only a second screen, not more. To keep things confusing, there’s also a throw-back 13-inch MBP that Apple released in summer 2022. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from early 2023 can handle either two or four depending on whether they have a Pro or the Max version of the processor. That makes it right for the 13-inch MacBook Air from 2022 and the 15-inch model from this summer.īut the more-recent MacBook Pros that run the M2 Pro and M2 Max can connect to many more screens. This is a consumer-focused processor and supports only a single additional display. This all started over again with the Apple M2 released in mid-2022. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch models can connect to up to three. That includes support for multiple additional displays. But it was the best Apple silicon available in 2020, so it went into the MacBook Pro released that year, too.Īs soon as Apple began bringing out notebooks with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, the limitation disappeared. It was for Macs aimed at consumers, like the MacBook Air and Mac mini from a couple of years ago. The M1 was never intended for pro-grade computers. External display limitation now only affects consumer MacBooks A chip that wasn’t completely up to the job of powering a professional-class laptop. The 2020 MBP was part of the Intel-to-Apple transition and was essentially an Intel model with a new chip plugged in. That’s because it used an Apple M1 processor. But the very first MacBook Pro with Apple silicon supported only a single external display. Before then, Intel-based Pro models offered plenty of additional screens. It’s a question that only became important when Apple brought out its own Mac processors in 2020. So the question is, which ones can handle more than one? Even a 16-inch screen is small compared to a desktop monitor.Īll MacBooks offer second-screen support. More screens mean more space to work in, and that can be critical when you’re using a 14-inch notebook. Confusion stems from Apple silicon transitionĮxternal displays make MacBook users more productive.
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