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M2 MacBooks Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

Macative said:
LOL. I bet that works great /s
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Considering how many people - especially in remote office settings - only really need to use basic word processing, spreadsheet, and web access in order to do pretty much all their work these days. Yeah. It probably works very, very well for people who do this with Chromebooks.

Imagine being so wrapped up in the Apple bubble that you can't even imagine the kind of productivity gain that comes from simply being able to run a web browser, spreadsheet, BI application, presentation app, .PDF reader, and word processor, spread across multiple monitors, on a device specifically designed to do those things, just because it didn't come from your chosen vendor.
 
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jakey rolling said:
"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.
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Yep, if I'm not the target demographic for these machines as a gen-Z Californian software engineer, previously a college student, who works remotely and has used Macs since forever, who the heck is?

Older low-end MBPs drive 2 external displays just fine, like my base 2015 one that's been my mobile workstation for 7 years (and a 2012 one before that). Used to hook it up to two 2K monitors in our shared office space all day every day.
 
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no_idea said:
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
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Ironically, it's early-2000s to treat >1 display as a high-spec feature. AirPlay and DisplayLink show these Macs can drive more than that if you really want them to.
 
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jakey rolling said:
Considering how many people - especially in remote office settings - only really need to use basic word processing, spreadsheet, and web access in order to do pretty much all their work these days. Yeah. It probably works very, very well for people who do this with Chromebooks.

Imagine being so wrapped up in the Apple bubble that you can't even imagine the kind of productivity gain that comes from simply being able to run a web browser, spreadsheet, BI application, presentation app, .PDF reader, and word processor, spread across multiple monitors, on a device specifically designed to do those things, just because it didn't come from your chosen vendor.
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I actually hate using the Chromebooks cause they have no terminal emulator. SWEs who use them rely heavily on weird ways of accessing remote machines through our web-based IDE. And the hardware is crappy. But they can still run triple displays!
 
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jakey rolling said:
Considering how many people - especially in remote office settings - only really need to use basic word processing, spreadsheet, and web access in order to do pretty much all their work these days. Yeah. It probably works very, very well for people who do this with Chromebooks.

Imagine being so wrapped up in the Apple bubble that you can't even imagine the kind of productivity gain that comes from simply being able to run a web browser, spreadsheet, BI application, presentation app, .PDF reader, and word processor, spread across multiple monitors, on a device specifically designed to do those things, just because it didn't come from your chosen vendor.
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Imagine thinking its acceptable for a product like Mac to do something poorly, just so it can do it.
 
jakey rolling said:
Considering how many people - especially in remote office settings - only really need to use basic word processing, spreadsheet, and web access in order to do pretty much all their work these days. Yeah. It probably works very, very well for people who do this with Chromebooks.

Imagine being so wrapped up in the Apple bubble that you can't even imagine the kind of productivity gain that comes from simply being able to run a web browser, spreadsheet, BI application, presentation app, .PDF reader, and word processor, spread across multiple monitors, on a device specifically designed to do those things, just because it didn't come from your chosen vendor.
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It's amazing how much work is really just knowledge working.

We have the most unlikely user who now can't imagine working without 3 screens. It's just like you said too. They're using Excel, a web browser, and BI applications.
 
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Macative said:
Imagine thinking its acceptable for a product like Mac to do something poorly, just so it can do it.
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What makes you think the Mac would do this poorly? Has Apple fallen so far behind in their design department that they can't even keep up with a $500 Chromebook or a $40 Raspberry Pi now?
 
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Eidorian said:
It's amazing how much work is really just knowledge working.

We have the most unlikely user who now can't imagine working without 3 screens. It's just like you said too. They're using Excel, a web browser, and BI applications.
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This 100 times over.

I deploy and support ERP systems for a living. The users I encounter in my daily life are often the least technically literate computer users in the world - yet nearly all of them run at least two monitors (often 3 or more), simply because it allows them to spend the least amount of time "doing paperwork" as possible, and the most amount of time doing their real work which is usually non-computer related.

The problem with so many people in Mac-centric communities is that their idea of "doing work" seems to revolve around creative work. Video editing, photo editing, maybe writing. It seems too many live in such a bubble that they can't at all imagine people who aren't "L33T" technonerds needing more than a basic web browser to watch their YouTube videos.
 
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Macative said:
The comparison is to a product that does do it poorly.
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We're not talking about how well other products can do it. We've already established other products can do it (and most do it well, despite what you are clearly desperate to tell yourself). We're talking about how well Apple can do it. Apple markets their products as premium products. Even their lowest-end laptops are priced similarly to business-class PC laptops. Apple wants you to believe they offer a better product than everyone else. And you certainly seem to believe it yourself.

The question is simple - do you believe Apple can do it properly on their basic laptop, or not? If not, why not? If so, why - other than reasons that can only be classified as "a**hole design" or "consumer gatekeeping" - would Apple exclude such a feature from their laptops.
 
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jakey rolling said:
We're not talking about how well other products can do it. We've already established other products can do it (and most do it well, despite what you are clearly desperate to tell yourself). We're talking about how well Apple can do it. Apple markets their products as premium products. Even their lowest-end laptops are priced similarly to business-class PC laptops. Apple wants you to believe they offer a better product than everyone else. And you certainly seem to believe it yourself.

The question is simple - do you believe Apple can do it properly on their basic laptop, or not? If not, why not? If so, why - other than reasons that can only be classified as "a**hole design" or "consumer gatekeeping" - would Apple exclude such a feature from their laptops.
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Good grief.

Because most people who buy entry level laptops from Apple are not bringing them home to setup command central. So there is no reason for Apple to prioritize this experience over others. Apple also doesn't do ANYTHING unless it is being done well and done to a certain standard of quality (see: display support of M1 Pro/Max products). So it's all or nothing.

The only place these complaints come from are the cheapest of cheapskates that want to spend as little as possible but get every feature imaginable. Sick of reading it, frankly.
 
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Macative said:
Because most people who buy entry level laptops from Apple are not bringing them home to setup command central.
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Who the eff are you to assume what people buy computers for?

Macative said:
So there is no reason for Apple to prioritize this experience over others.
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Who on Earth would Apple be "prioritizing the experience" over? There is literally no other part of "the experience" that would be compromised by enabling the ability to run multiple monitors. None. Your entire comment makes zero sense here.

Macative said:
Apple also doesn't do ANYTHING unless it is being done well and done to a certain standard of quality (see: display support of M1 Pro/Max products). So it's all or nothing.
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Oh please. Mac Studio whine. Apple Studio Display camera. Butterfly keyboard. Every mouse Apple ever invented.
 
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jakey rolling said:
Who the eff are you to assume what people buy computers for?


Who on Earth would Apple be "prioritizing the experience" over? There is literally no other part of "the experience" that would be compromised by enabling the ability to run multiple monitors. None. Your entire comment makes zero sense here.


Oh please. Mac Studio whine. Apple Studio Display camera. Butterfly keyboard. Every mouse Apple ever invented.
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LMAO. You couldn't be any more clueless if you tried.

I see I figured you correctly. Cheapskate that wants cheapest Mac to what Pro Macs do.
 
Macative said:
LMAO. You couldn't be any more clueless if you tried.
I see I figured you correctly. Cheapskate that wants cheapest Mac to what Pro Macs do.
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I guess you got me dead to rights. I'm absolutely cheap. Yes. You are right. I absolutely do want to spend the least amount of money to get the basic features I find important to my workflow and computing experience. I would consider someone who doesn't want the best value for their dollar to be, well, kind of a weirdo. But that's just me. You go ahead and continue just settling for whatever Apple tells you is good enough for your needs. I'm sure Apple will be very happy to do the absolute minimum they can to oblige you.
 
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jakey rolling said:
I guess you got me dead to rights. I'm absolutely cheap. Yes. You are right. I absolutely do want to spend the least amount of money to get the basic features I find important to my workflow and computing experience. I would consider someone who doesn't want the best value for their dollar to be, well, kind of a weirdo. But that's just me. You go ahead and continue just settling for whatever Apple tells you is good enough for your needs. I'm sure Apple will be very happy to do the absolute minimum they can to oblige you.
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Apple has it's device market clearly segmented; some features require upgrading to more expensive models. Furthermore, it is known the Apple ecosystem is not cheap. If you buy a device knowingly it does not fill your needs due to how cheap it was, don't come back to complain. You got what you paid for.

That said, you can find cheap alternatives by buying refurbished products on Apple's own store. A believe yesterday a bunch of 14" MBPs were available to purchase for like $500 off.
 
jav6454 said:
Apple has it's device market clearly segmented; some features require upgrading to more expensive models.
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The clear segmentation is between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. But turns out Pro alone isn't enough for more displays, has to be certain configurations of it.
 
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jakey rolling said:
Oh please. Mac Studio whine. Apple Studio Display camera. Butterfly keyboard. Every mouse Apple ever invented.
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The thing where the TB ports on the Intel 2016-2019 MBPs weren't equivalent was a big compromise. They understandably wanted users to be able to charge from either side, but charging on the left side heats up the CPU significantly.
 
jav6454 said:
If you buy a device knowingly it does not fill your needs due to how cheap it was, don't come back to complain. You got what you paid for.
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"Don't come back to complain". Again, you can be happy to settle for what Apple offers you. That's your prerogative. Just understand that as long as Apple's customers continue to live with Apple's "market segmentation" as you call it (really, it's just a businessy-sounding weasel-word for "artificial limitation intended to increase upsell potential") and not question or complain about basic features missing in a mid-range-priced laptop, you will continue to face the compromises Apple builds into their products.
 
As an Apple shareholder since 2002, I just want Apple to continue to do well. This move to not include 2 external display capability on the air is not a smart move. It ignores the market segment who mainly uses their mac as a citrix thin client for working from home. These people require two external monitors. They are unlikely to upgrade to spend $1000 more for a more powerful workstation that can do this just so they can have a mac. They'll probably just buy a cheaper PC instead. This is lost revenue. It's not forcing people to upgrade to more expensive machines that make Apple richer. It's just losing customers and it pisses me off. It's like Apple doesn't do market research. That was fine when Steve as around but the current marketing people don't have Steve's intuition. They need to do actual research into the market.
 
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