M2 MacBooks Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

[MacRumors]

Apple today unveiled new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models powered by its new M2 chip, and tech specs on Apple's website confirm that both notebooks officially support only a single external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz.

The previous-generation MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the M1 chip also supported only a single external display, according to Apple, but it was discovered that multiple displays can be connected to these notebooks with the use of DisplayLink adapters, and this will likely remain a workaround for the new M2 Macs.

The higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models support up to two external displays with the M1 Pro chip, and up to four with the M1 Max chip.

Article Link: M2 MacBooks Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

 

[6787872]

epic fail

 

[strayts]

The 60hz part is the most annoying to me.

 

[MrGunny94]

Forcing users to go for the M1 Pro base model if they want to have dual displays…

 

[MakeAppleAwesomeAgain]

Ugh I waited for the M2 only for this reason.

 

[4jasontv]

Wait... the M1 Max support four displays? Really? I thought it was 3.
So it goes:
M#: 1 display
M# Pro: 2 displays
M# Max: 4 displays
M# Ultra: 5 displays

Does Apple not know what the most common multiple display setup is?

 

[BallparkDreamer]

I was going to buy an Air day one. Whelp.

 

[connormw]

The 60hz part is the most annoying to me.

60Hz at 6K.

Monitors at lower resolutions should in theory be able to hit higher refresh rates - I have seen success reported by others on an M1 running 1440p @ 120Hz+.

 

[UltimateSyn]

That’s a shame, and it’s probably a software limitation at this point. Why was the technical reason for the limitation on M1 - not enough Thunderbolt controllers?

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

"You're not Pro enough!"

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

It may not be a software limitation, but a technical.

First of all, the M1 and M2 have only 1 Thunderbolt bus. Both ports split/share 1 full amount of bandwidth, rather than each having a bus and having full bandwidth. That alone is why it only supports 1, even though that could support 2 4K displays daisy chained. I will explain why Apple doesn’t want that in a minute.

M1 Pro = 16 GPU cores and 2 displays
M1Max = 24-32 GPU cores and 4 displays

The 10 GPU cores may not be enough to support 2 external displays at 5K+

And, for each supported display, apple is NOT going to want to drop below 6k at 60Hz.

They do not want an M2 to support 2 displays, but only at 4K. Their first party displays are 5K and 6K, and they aren’t going to want to support less than their own.

Edit: it’s strange that people are “disliking” and “haha-ing” this post, considering it’s about the technical limitations of a chip. I think those are just the little turds on this forum that stir up trouble and always have to be right.

 

[Stella]

Low end macs. You’ll have to pay extra if you want to use 2 external monitors

 

[hagjohn]

Apple needs to hire new people. Between this and the iPhone for webcam is just too ****** to comprehend this cycle.

 

[Mailia]

More proof that they should just axe the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Why force users to get M1 Pro Base Models? There has to be an easier way. Come on!

 

[prism]

Only 1 external display, both tb ports only on one side, jacked up price, no wedged design, strong pass!

 

[kevcube]

The 60hz part is the most annoying to me.

that limitation applies to 6k displays. you can run a 4k/144hz display.

6k/60hz is a thunderbolt 4 limitation, not Mac or macOS.

 

[anshuvorty]

As Ming Chi Kuo has pointed it out last week, the M2 is just a glorified M1..it isn't the next-gen M2 chip that we thought it would be....hence why it still only supports 1 external display...LOL!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Apple needs to hire new people. Between this and the iPhone for webcam is just too ****** to comprehend this cycle.

No idea why Apple is introducing the iPhone webcam kit. Not a big fan of it. Would have been easier if they just put better cameras inside the 🖥 💻

 

[kevcube]

60Hz at 6K.

Monitors at lower resolutions should in theory be able to hit higher refresh rates - I have seen success reported by others on an M1 running 1440p @ 120Hz+.

yep, I run 4k/144 off of my 13".

 

[velocityg4]

Wait... the M1 Max support four displays? Really? I thought it was 3.
So it goes:
M#: 1 display
M# Pro: 2 displays
M# Max: 4 displays
M# Ultra: 5 displays

Does Apple not know what the most common multiple display setup is?

I think it is actually. 2, 3, 5, 5 for the regular through Pro. It's just the laptop's display counts as one of the displays.

Still, quite the disappoinment. I was hoping for support for at least two displays. The price hike is also disappointing.

 

[Mat.Rynio]

Not a surprise. What funny is that people want Air to be Pro Mac. People, there is a reason Apple sells Basic/Air Macs and Pro Macs. If you want a Pro features u have to buy 14"/16" MacBook Pro (2021). Don't forget that Air is fanless laptop.

 

[4jasontv]

that limitation applies to 6k displays. you can run a 4k/144hz display.

6k/60hz is a thunderbolt 4 limitation, not Mac or macOS.

It's got two ports...

 

[Westside guy]

Apple engineers seem to be having trouble with multi-display support. It's like they can't work past their iPhone/iPad roots...

 

[visualseed]

So instead of more cores we should be demanding more Thunderbolt controllers. I also noticed the new Air design does not have and SD card slot.