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M3 MacBook Air Supports More External Displays Than M3 MacBook Pro
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One might find a video switching chip in the new air that is not found in the base 14" MBP.
If Apple are promoting use of the MBA in clamshell mode, then expect the USB-C versions of the keyboard, mouse and trackpad to be announced.
I love the new M series chipsets but the monitor limitation is such a major disappointment for me. With my old 2020 Intel 16” MBP I was able to run my three external monitors without any issues. Then I was forced to upgrade to A 2023 16” M2 Pro and was shocked when my third monitor wouldn’t work. I did not know that would be a limitation until after I started searching for a fix. So I had to remove the third monitor from my desk altogether.
To be fair, even under jobs there were instances where the consumer level products got features before the “pro” products.Tim, isn't the "Pro" model supposed to be better than the "Air" model? I think you need one of these,
The multitouch trackpad, for example, came to the MacBook Air before the MacBook Pro.
The unibody enclosure came to the 13 inch MacBook and 15 inch MacBook Pro before the 17 inch.
The iSight camera came to the iMac before the MacBook Pro.
Most MBP have been able to support multiple external displays with the exception of the M3 MBP with non-Pro processor (link) - many of the questions swirling around this thread concern why these new M3 MBA can support two external displays (in clamshell mode) while the M3 MBP with non-Pro processor currently cannot
The M3 Pro is better than the M3 Air in every metric except for size, weight, battery life, and external display support. Buy according to your needs.Tim, isn't the "Pro" model supposed to be better than the "Air" model? I think you need one of these,
PS: That iBook couldn’t even drive an external display.
This is what I expect, the internal display output is most likely now behind a new switching chip that can direct it that has not been there before.
Edit: It appears Apple did indeed build the hardware in, and just hasn't activated it yet.
www.engadget.com
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Original comment:
One note - this probably can’t be updated by software for the MBP, unless Apple planned to add it originally and just hasn’t activated it yet.
All the “non-Pro/Max/Ultra” Apple Silicon chips have been limited to two displays from day one. On laptops and iMac, the built-in display has always been one of the two allowed displays, even for laptops lid-closed.
The change here is that lid-closed, the built-in display no longer counts. This is probably accomplished with extra circuitry that routes that display signal to the USB-C ports. Adding this to a MBP would almost certainly require adding that same switch circuitry to the MBP.
So unless Apple built the M3 MBP with that circuitry but had it disabled in software, this feature won’t be able to be added via software update.
The M3 MacBook Pro is getting multi-display support, just like the Air
Apple M3 MacBook Pro laptops are getting multi-display support, so the computer will be able to drive two screens when the lid is closed. This is also a marquee feature found with the newly-announced M3 MacBook Air line.
www.engadget.com
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Original comment:
One note - this probably can’t be updated by software for the MBP, unless Apple planned to add it originally and just hasn’t activated it yet.
All the “non-Pro/Max/Ultra” Apple Silicon chips have been limited to two displays from day one. On laptops and iMac, the built-in display has always been one of the two allowed displays, even for laptops lid-closed.
The change here is that lid-closed, the built-in display no longer counts. This is probably accomplished with extra circuitry that routes that display signal to the USB-C ports. Adding this to a MBP would almost certainly require adding that same switch circuitry to the MBP.
So unless Apple built the M3 MBP with that circuitry but had it disabled in software, this feature won’t be able to be added via software update.
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Gosh, I miss the simplicity of this! Would be helpful if the consumer models had the base CPU/GPU, and the pro version had the same CPU/GPU, but with faster/more cores, plus more expansionTim, isn't the "Pro" model supposed to be better than the "Air" model? I think you need one of these,
That's what we have now. The Pro and Max chips use the same CPU and GPU cores, just more of them.
They could support one external display on the HDMI and another via display port (USB C), my take is that this new capability is part of macOS Sonoma 14.4 which is the version the new Airs will be shipping with, and will arrive in due time to the M3 MBP's.
That's because you have the Pro chip. They are comparing the new MBAs with the base M3 chip on the 14" MBP.
And about 1 out of 100,000 buyers of the Air will actually use this capability.
I'm sure there's a hardware difference beyond just the M3 chip itself.
I'm sure there's a hardware difference beyond just the M3 chip itself.
Yes, this thread is discussing the M3 non-pro chip. The MBA has a new feature that allows it to drive 2 external displays if the internal display is turned off due to being in clamshell mode. This is again, the non-pro chip. The pro chip can drive internal + 2 external displays.
