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M1 Macs Able to Run Up to Six External Displays Using DisplayLink
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Fixed it. Either clickbait or bad journalism. Sorry. For reasons like this you can't believe anything anymore even by "reputable sources".
Breaking news! You can use more monitors with an external graphics adapter. Who would have thought?
It's the same...
The difference might be that DisplayLink drivers for Apple Silicon are a lot more efficient...
There is a considerable difference between the 16” and 13” MBP, yet they are both labeled as “pro”. I certainly would not just jump on any Apple product called “pro” without finding out what it can do. I don’t mean to be argumentative, but to me these first run M1 Macs are entry (“base models” if you prefer) level devices. The first gen Mac Pro will certainly have true “pro” features...
We can gripe about branding all we want. But the fact that a two port MBP is clearly entry level compared to the 4 port 13” MBP cannot be ignored.
Looking for some guidance here on what to buy for dual monitor support for the following setup.
It is possible to run up to six external displays from the M1 Mac mini, and five external displays from the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, with the aid of DisplayPort adapters, according to YouTuber Ruslan Tulupov. This far exceeds Apple's specified limits on external displays with the M1 Macs.
Apple's host of new M1 Macs are not capable of supporting as many external displays as their Intel-based predecessors by default. The previous Intel-based MacBook Air could run one external 6K or 5K display or up to two external 4K displays, and the previous Intel-based MacBook Pro could run one external 5K display or up to two external 4K displays. The 2018 Intel-based Mac mini could run up to three 4K displays, or one 5K and one 4K display.
Apple says that the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro can run one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. The M1 Mac mini can run one display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0. This means that each new M1 Mac can run one less display than the model it replaced.
However, Tulupov has discovered that it is possible to run as many as six external displays from the M1 Mac mini, and five external displays from the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, using a workaround. This is achieved using DisplayPort adapters ad DisplayLink software to drive the additional displays. When the M1 Mac's ports have been filled, DisplayPort adapters have to be connected via an external dock to provide more ports.
Tulupov used a mix of external displays, ranging from 4K to 1080p, as the Mac's Thunderbolt ports do not have the bandwidth to simultaneously run six 4K displays at full resolution. Users would therefore still have to be selective about their external display setup when it comes to resolutions.
In testing, running full-resolution videos across the various displays at the same time as rendering in Final Cut Pro, Tulupov found performance to be "awesome," with very few frames being dropped. When closing and opening the MacBook Air, the displays behaved as expected, and the setup seems to be more than adequate for daily use.
Tulupov noted that he did not test this setup with Sidecar for the iPad, but it may still be possible to run Sidecar in addition to the external displays for even more screen space.
In a separate video, Tulupov explained how to go about connecting additional external displays to an M1 Mac using a DisplayPort adapter. The process simply involves installing DisplayLink drivers, which are already Big Sur-compatible, and connecting the adapter via USB-C.
The workaround solution may offer a lifeline to users who were disappointed at the M1 Mac's limited external display capabilities.
Article Link: M1 Macs Able to Run Up to Six External Displays Using DisplayPort Adapters
Could someone post link here please? Thank you
I currently own the following:
-MB PRO M1
Monitor
-1 LG 4k
-1 LG 5k
-https://www.apple.com/us/search/LG+UltraFine+4K+Display?src=globalnav
...and also proudly stating that their 10 year old PC with a $200 graphics card can run 20 displays easy, so Macs are therefore overpriced garbage!
That would be ideal. The XDR Display is just overkill for most scenarios. Like you mentioned, Apple has big gap on their lineup when it comes to displays.
They are not DisplayLink specific adapters, just regular USB 3.0 to Dual DisplayPort. I guess a better title would be:
M1 Macs Able to Run Up to Six External Displays Using DisplayLink
Imo, this avoids the confusion - while also not assuming specific DisplayLink adapters are required.
That would be the ones who think they're pros but don't actually do any pro work. Gaming does not count as Pro work BTW.
Actually, the M1 Mini would do very nicely for what I do, and I would classify myself as a pro, as I do work that I get paid for - 3D modelling, illustration, some light animation and video work. If my 2008 3.1 Mac Pro died today instead of 5 weeks ago, I'd definitely have one.
Once minimum performance has been met for your task, the most important part of a computer is your input and output devices.
Arguably, input/output is more important: if you're not comfortable, you're not going to use the computer.
A small business owner, that’s just trying to get started. Also I plan on replacing my 2013” MacBook Pro with the M1 MBP. It’s more powerful than my current high end model.
I was wondering about that. On the DisplayLink macOS 1.1 release notes it doesn't say if it's universal or not, which would typically mean not universal. I wonder how much difference rosetta2 vs. native makes for the DisplayLink workload, which seems to be (?) mostly compression.
You're not far wrong. It's criminal that Apple didn't add 8 HDMI connectors to the M1 MBA. Tim Cook should be run out of Cupertino.
100%. I'd expect a "Pro" product to support 2 external monitors out the box.
The M1 chips have replaced Intel chips in Apple's _low end_ devices. It's quite normal that low end devices don't support more monitors.
Well, you don't have to spend $200.
If you have the M1 MacBook Air, you can drive the internal display plus use a USB-C dongle to drive an external display.
If you want to drive two additional external displays using DisplayLink, you can use something like Startech's "USB 3.0 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter" to do so. It costs $67 (2x4K 30Hz) or $100 (2x4K 60Hz) and requires a cheap USBC-to-USBA adapter to connect to the MacBook Air, but you don't need a separate dock. [This gets your four total displays, but you can't charge the mac because the ports are full. That's why you might want an actual dock with pass-through power. Or unplug the USB-C dongle for only three total displays.]
No, Apple does indeed sell an entry level MacBook Pro. It’s $1,299, and it’s the the model that was updated with the M1.
You’re probably thinking of the next model up, the $1,799 MBP with four TB3 ports, which has not been updated to M1 yet. Only the entry-level ($1,299) MBP was updated.
Many pros use the entry level MBP, it is quite sufficient for them, even with 8GB RAM 🤷♂️
btw, many pros also buy the $999 MacBook Air, don’t let the name fool you lol. It’s plenty of machine for them, especially with the M1 upgrade.
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