Interesting I don't see any indication that his post was edited, I do see that you have modified many of yours though
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M2 MacBooks Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display
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M2 Air doesn’t have a fan. It’s possible that 2 external displays (with or without internal display) could heat the system to a point that it would permanently throttle. Apple isn’t going to go for that.
And, in general, a fanless portable computer is not really the candidate computer for running 2+ External displays.
And, in general, a fanless portable computer is not really the candidate computer for running 2+ External displays.
M2 Air doesn’t have a fan. It’s possible that 2 external displays (with or without internal display) could heat the system to a point that it would permanently throttle. Apple isn’t going to go for that.
And, in general, a fanless portable computer is not really the candidate computer for running 2+ External displays.
Could be, but that does not explain the 13" Macbook Pro which does have a fan
It’s not a pro feature if a chromebook can do it.
The M1 and M2 Airs both support 3360*2100 resolution on the built-in display plus a simultaneous 6K display. That’s more pixels than my triple 4K plus 1080P PC setup.
And that’s not even counting any sidecar displays. With sidecar enabled, it can run more than 8K pixels simultaneously.
((6016*3384)+(1680*1050*4*1.04)+(2048 x 2732)) / (3840*2160) = 4.01
(6K + maximum resolution internal + iPad Pro 12.9 resolution) / 4K = 4.01
so I will stick to my MBP 15" late 2015 that can support two dell monitors (4k S2721Q + ultra-sharp U2515H)
Sigh. I'm ok with DisplayLink, even if it's slightly jank. I don't get why that works but Apple can't do it themselves. Clearly you don't need one Thunderbolt controller per display.
No, it would be more like complaining that iPhone SE doesn't support GPS, or CarPlay, or any number of other features that iPhones previously supported. Again, consumer level Intel MacBooks could support multiple displays. The MacBook Airs have the power to support multiple lower res or lower refresh rate displays. Not allowing this is a decision on Apple's part.
Well, the Mac mini doesn't have its own built-in display, so you're driving the same number in the end.
My coworkers. Some are even doing that with Chromebooks. One guy has 3 displays.
Not exactly. The DisplayLink workaround isn't flawless, but it works quite well. Cheaper and feels better than letting Apple get away with intentionally limiting the low-end models.
Correct but the poster asked who buys a low end mac to connect it to 2 displays. I have two 34" ultrawides, I don't want and 34" and 13" side by side. At least give us the option to disable the laptop display and just use the external displays.
Well that's disappointing... I really hope the next mac mini doesn't use this same chip, or at least give us the option to upgrade to the Pro or Max versions when they are released. I'm still rocking a 2018 intel mac mini because I needed to be able to run Windows, but I have a PC now for that. I still need to be able to run 2 or more displays...
It does one. That's enough for most users.
If that's not enough for you, you aren't the target demographic of the base chip. Apple has options, it's not like all their laptops can only do 1 external.
"Not in the target demographic" is such a cop-out. It's no wonder Apple gets away with making such customer-adverse decisions like this. So many of you are so quick to completely dismiss criticism on behalf of Apple and are thrilled to live with expensive mediocrity.
It's amazing to see how many people are defending this tactic and its lack of a basic feature. As if it is somehow unbelievable to expect a laptop, in this day and age pretty much ANY laptop, to have multiple external monitor support and ..gasp..there people being out there that want to do this on a "cheap" Macbook Air (or base model of Macbook Pro).
The fact that Apple does offer, more expensive, options that do is beside the point. By that logic, Apple can remove some basic features from the next iPhone and offer it in the more expensive version only. Because hey "it's ok, they have options"
The fact that Apple does offer, more expensive, options that do is beside the point. By that logic, Apple can remove some basic features from the next iPhone and offer it in the more expensive version only. Because hey "it's ok, they have options"
Many people use Citrix to WFH and connect to their office and have two screens like they do in the office. It's extremely common. There's no need for a high performance computer for these people because they're basically using the Mac as a thin client.
Are you sure? So I can run two external monitors on the M2 air in clamshell mode? Do you have a source for that?
I have an M1 13" MBP and can attach it to an external monitor at 4K60hz AND Airplay to my M1 iMac in extended mode in 4K60hz. Including the internal monitor, that's 3 screens running at >1080p 60hz with no apparent impact to performance. The 1 external monitor limit is arbitrary, they simply want you to buy a more expensive machine.