M1 Macs Able to Run Up to Six External Displays Using DisplayLink

[smetvid]

Another option that would be hardware accelerated is to get an ultra wide monitor and just use a single display. They do cost more but its a way to have the same screen space as two monitors plus it doesn't have the gap in the middle.

 

[aleni]

Me wondering what would someone do with 5-6 external displays...

John Carmack on his peak day probably. Coding doom all his own lmao.

 

[G4DPII]

Apple doesn't sell entry level computers. And it's in the name of the machine: MacBook PRO.


You mean Apple does't sell entry point computers at entry point prices.

 

[MHenr]

I would not consider this a good Apple experience.

Agree, but it's not according to Apple's recommendation either.

 

[Maconplasma]

The best keeps getting better with the M-series Macs!! YES!!

 

[Maconplasma]

Some stock traders would find this useful.

This type of usage is not a common one. And this is also coming from a day trader.

 

[incoherent_1]

I’m happy to rip into Apple for crazy or stupid products, but holy moley, gotta hand it to them: these M1 Macs are just disgustingly powerful and energy efficient. Well done guys!

 

[ddtmm]

I can't imagine there's any appreciable performance without proper acceleration support. He's just showing desktop wallpaper. Unless all you need a bunch of static displays (minus the HDMI port monitor) it's probably useless for anything with motion.

 

[bklement]

No. The Air is an ultrabook, not entry level.

 

[SWAON]

I'm more interested in portables displays, since Mac mini is half-way through of being really portable desktop replacement.. in case if we travel and don't want to buy another Macbook..

 

[montuori]

I've used QLab on a Mac Pro with multiple graphics cards to run multiple synced projectors in live theater productions. Being able to do this reliably on something smaller like a Mac Mini would be awesome.

Agreed! For small (read: scraping by on what we can beg, borrow, or steal) venues this functionality opens up a lot of possibilities.

 

[jazz1]

Me wondering what would someone do with 5-6 external displays...

Early USB dock pictured Really six displays? I’ve only got three on my iMac set-up. I do wish the MacMini I have coming would natively support 3 displays like my iMac (includes the iMac’s display).

 

[neuralengine]

This great news. Lots of people are in the market for a $700 Mac mini to drive $6,000 worth of 4K monitors, along with a $1,000 eGPU.

Only the entire performing arts industry.

 

[nikaru]

Every macrumors user uses at least 8 external displays simulatensly, so M1 supporting only 7 is a big fail.

 

[JPack]

This is a great creative solution, and is another example of how much value the M1 Macs really offer.

How does it offer value when consumers have to buy a $200 dock to enable dual external displays?

Dual external displays has been available since 2018 on MacBook Air. Even a $200 Chromebook support this feature without using a dock.

 

[JPack]

i think the big problems is out of the box it only support 1 external display, and for pro users thats not enough. personally I have a MBP and I need at least 2

Agreed - virtually every company serious about WFH has given their employees a few hundred dollars to buy equipment, whether it's a chair, dual monitors, or a standing desk topper. It's nuts you need to spend $200 for a DisplayLink dock to get dual displays.

 

[iMi]

Me wondering what would someone do with 5-6 external displays...

This statement is deeply offensive to spiders. 😂

 

[Dragon M.]

I posted this in the external monitor thread, but it is definitely NOT perfect using DisplayLink.

In fact, the DisplayLink drivers are so buggy on my Mac Mini that I'm returning it until Apple can give support for 3 monitors on a desktop computer. After sleep or restart, my monitor arrangement doesn't stay and I have to rearrange every time. This problem, along with what I outlined in the other thread, is just too much hassle.

Just FYI anybody hoping to go with the DisplayLink route. I wanted 3 monitors for my Mac Mini (since that what I ran previously).

I've found at least two features that are crippled by using DisplayLink:
1. Using your Apple Watch to unlock your computer or for passwords is a no-go. Apparently, this can't happen when someone is "observing your screen."
2. Netflix/Hulu/Disney+/AppleTV/any TV show and movie bought from iTunes will NOT play while a DisplayLink device is connected. A poor workaround is using Google Chrome to access the web-based ones, but won't work for the Apple controlled ones. Basically, using DisplayLink screws up anything that requires HDCP. I did some looking, and apparently, it doesn't matter if your dock/dongle supports HDCP, the macOS driver just can't handle it.

If anyone figures out any workarounds other than just using 2 screens, let me know.

 

[Lucas284]

Why... I mean you could just buy a football stadium TV screen instead.

 

[ghanwani]

six is too little, i need moar.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

It's a ****ing shame for Apple to force poeple wanting more than one display for a macbook PRO to use something like this. If there were hardware limitations with m1, just implement the displayport daisy chaining in the OS already, ffs.

Keep in mind these are 1st gen, entry level devices.

 

[hvfsl]

Me wondering what would someone do with 5-6 external displays...

Well I am currently using 3 screens when working from home. One for MS Teams (video calls), one for Outlook and one for web applications I use. Although I could do with 4 screens really so I have one I can load up any additional apps I need to use from time to time. So more screens is always good.

 

[bklement]

Keep in mind these are 1st gen, entry level devices.

One of it is an xps-level ultraportable, the other is a PRO.

 

[gavroche]

Have you guys not seen Swordfish? A minimum of six monitors is required for hacking and creating 1024-bit encryption cubes. Duh. 🙄

View attachment 1678565

There’s only one thing I remember about swordfish. Well, two actually

 

[DanTheMan827]

I can't imagine graphics performance would be very good with a USB video adapter...