5k iMac as a display for M3 MacBook

[Darajavahus]

I assumed that of course it must be possible, but just now before deciding which MacBook to buy I googled it and it seems it’s not possible to use 2020 5k iMac as a display for M3 MacBook, no way 😵 wtf

 

[bobcomer]

Yes and no. There's no video port in on your iMac, but there's various ways to use your iMac as a display for your Macbook. It has more latency than a hardware connection, but for productivity stuff, it works pretty well.

There's Luna Display, which is a hardware dongle. It's the lowest latency. It works somewhat well, but it's getting better all the time.

There's Duet Display, which is very versatile and is totally software. Latency is higher, but it can do a lot of things.

And then there's VNC, the Mac's built in screen sharing.

Note that something is running on the iMac to receive, so it's more like remote desktop than anything.

Then, I believe, there's a hardware solution where you gut your iMac and turn it into a standalone monitor.

Turning an iMac into a half-priced Studio Display - 9to5Mac

When Apple’s new Studio Display was released last month, many people were quick to point out that panel is nearly...

9to5mac.com

 

[Regulus67]

Then, I believe, there's a hardware solution where you gut your iMac and turn it into a standalone monitor.

Indeed there is

DIY 5k Monitor - success :-)

My "latest Macs" are a heavily upgraded 2009 Mac Pro (6c CPU, M.2 SSD, USB 3, RX580...) and more recently a 12c 2013 Mac Pro with an eGPU (Vega 56) - both machines with more than enough CPU power, GPU power and RAM for my needs, but I long aspired to upgrade to a nice 5k monitor to replace my...

forums.macrumors.com