M2 MacBooks Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

[MauiPa]

let's not forget it can support the built-in, an external and an airplay display simultaneously, yep

 

[MauiPa]

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

they probably have trouble with the extra heat and energy draw, darn that physics

 

[hagjohn]

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 🖥 💻

Apple is acting like they are teetering on bankruptcy but they are sitting on piles of cash. We put out a lot of money when we buy Apple. They can at least allow 2 decent displays and put a decent webcam in their equipment.

I know a name they can call the connector that is going to allow you to hang a phone off the back of a laptop. Duct tape.

 

[Mizouse]

4K 120hz+ over HDMI would be nice.

Currently no way to get that even with a USBC/TB to HDMI2.1 or even USBC/TB to DP1.4 then a DP1.4 to HDMI2.1

 

[no_idea]

epic fail

Lol…fork over the money for a max or ultra…ppl that still use the phrase “epic failure “ seem to be stuck in the early 2000’s when that phrase was hip

 

[Ziperix]

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?

They do and M1 Pro supports it

 

[MauiPa]

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.

dude, it's the Air

 

[Rapp]

It's got two ports...

Do the ports share the same bus or are they separate controllers?

 

[4jasontv]

They do and M1 Pro supports it

Two displays are not the most popular. Unless the MBP comes in a 27" model the internal display doesn't count.

 

[4jasontv]

Do the ports share the same bus or are they separate controllers?

IDK, but the first-gen 4k displays used dual output from a single GPU to overcome bandwidth limitations of cables.

 

[azentropy]

Very disappointed here, especially since the last gen intel MBA supported two.

 

[Mat.Rynio]

dude, it's the Air

People be like:
- "No sd card slot? No 120hz? No 5 external displays support? No HDMI port? Garbage!"
- Buy a Pro Mac
- "I don't want PRO Mac!!"

 

[erikkfi]

Is it possible this is heat related? No dual 5K displays because you'd already be amping GPU thermals - especially with no cooling fan?

 

[gabicava83]

Very disappointed here, especially since the last gen intel MBA supported two.

This is precisely it. If the previous one supported it, why not on the new one. I don't need all the power anymore. All I need is 2 external monitors. I was all ready to get the air, with the 24GB RAM and 1 TB disk, loved it as it was fanless, small form factor. Damn. Maybe I can get it to run a 49" Widescreen (Samsung G9 Neo) + iPad Pro 12.9....?

 

[PsykX]

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!

M2 is a pretty solid update though.

 

[4jasontv]

People be like:
- "No sd card slot? No 120hz? No 5 external displays support? No HDMI port? Garbage!"
- Buy a Pro Mac
- "I don't want PRO Mac!!"

Except... the M2 Air has more ports than the M2 Pro... and the same display limitations...

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Everyone saying it's related to the controllers or software are wrong. It's a limitation of the GPU, and therefore M1/2, design.

 

[blazerunner]

The 60hz part is the most annoying to me.

Once you get used to anything above 90hz, it's hard to go back.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Like it or not this is typical Apple, channel there customers to the more expensive route where possible.

I believe this is by design.

 

[macduff79]

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 MacBook Pro. Don't forget that Air is fanless laptop.

The 13 inch Pro doesn't support it either. It was supported in the Intel Macs. As people have pointed out, it shouldn't be hard to support lower resolution or refresh to get multiple monitors (as 3rd party drivers already do). Personally, I want to be able to remote into my work machine and use multiple monitors to code. I don't need high-res displays and I shouldn't have to buy a Pro laptop when my computer isn't doing much processing.

We'll now be at least 4 years of no support for multiple external monitors on a consumer-level machine. I was looking forward to upgrading my 2016 Pro, but now I don't know if I can or should.

 

[Eidorian]

The GPU is only for application acceleration. Nothing to see here.

 

[fabibcn]

also for me. A requirement for upgrading is some HDMI 2.1 features, like 4K at 120Hz. I know VRR was too much to ask for Apple, but come on... So i'm not upgrading

 

[falkon-engine]

Call it a modern “GPU” but then only support 1 external display. When Radeon, GeForce, Arc, and UHD graphics all support multiple external displays. Reality distortion field.

 

[Mailia]

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 MacBook Pro. Don't forget that Air is fanless laptop.

This chip is also inside the MacBook Pro.

 

[windowsblowsass]

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

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.

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.

It's because of the single TB controller.