People who have not had less than 2 monitors in at last 10 years? Why would I want to have to minimize and maximize a screen?
Sorry new to this forum. I meant that comment for the OP.
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M3 MacBook Pro to Get Multi-Display Support With Software Update
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Sorry new to this forum. I meant that comment for the OP.
I'm an IT professional that uses both PCs and Macs heavily. I have never used a laptop as a main PC. At home I have my gaming PC with RTX 4090 / ultrawide monitor. And then have a Dell XPS 13 for any situation when I'm not at home. Likewise I have a M2 Mac mini at home with dual 1440p screens, and M3 MacBook Air (Friday) for any situation away from home.
I would never touch a laptop that has a screen larger that 13" and weighs more than 2.9lbs. For me, laptops are meant to be portable. I want it as small and light as possible. For big work I will use my workstations at home or in the office.
That's just me, I know others may not have the budget or time for multiple setups but this is the way I view computing.
I would never touch a laptop that has a screen larger that 13" and weighs more than 2.9lbs. For me, laptops are meant to be portable. I want it as small and light as possible. For big work I will use my workstations at home or in the office.
That's just me, I know others may not have the budget or time for multiple setups but this is the way I view computing.
It’s only been a few months since M3 came out, it takes time and resources to add these features, and with the launch of AVP those engineering resources have probably been spread pretty thin for the last year or so. We don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes, they may have wanted it ready in time for the M3 launch but it wasn’t there yet.
I just don’t think our default mindset should be that Apple is evil and greedy for every little thing.
Also that’s pretty impressive, mine is a Latitude 5520 with Iris Xe integrated graphics 🤷🏼♀️ not sure why it chokes on 3 displays but it definitely seems to, unless it’s just Windows being buggy
You’re replying to a poster that doesn’t understand there are only two “lanes” for video output. The only change this firmware provides is to power a second external monitor *instead* of the internal.
The hardware’s “power” has nothing to do with how many “lanes” exist for video output.
You can have a 600hp engine, but without a transmission (in this example the transmission is a video “lane”) to get that power to the wheels it’s doesn’t matter how powerful it is.
Yes, thank you, & I like the car analogy lol. Rerouting the internal display pipeline to an external is something new that needed to be implemented for this to happen.
Should Apple have included the hardware necessary for more displays? Maybe, but I’m sure they’ve done the market research and concluded that the majority of the target demographic for the base M chips aren’t running multiple display setups, and decided to use that bit of silicon for something they thought was more useful for more people
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No the OP. Per my knowledge, A m1 pro (8-10 core, 16gb,1tb) should be more than enough for your usage, unless you need HDMI 2.1.
I think the problem here is that Apple knows their target audience per device, but the M series is so damn capable at its *lowest* tiers that nerds (us forum dwellers) now can do things on an Air that you previously definitely would have needed a Pro.
So they fall into the camp that are used to edge cases (multi monitor setups were rare for “normal people” until the pandemic if they had generous employers) that Apples internal data shows THEIR target audience for a device just doesn’t cover.
Do I wish the Air could drive 3+ monitors? Hell yes I do. But understanding the hardware for the base M series is more closely aligned with the A series in terms of display controllers, I get how we got here.
I’m not happy about it, but I understand how a decision like the two video “lanes” on the base models came to be.
A $4 trillion dollar company couldn't figure out how to use dual monitors on my Mac without having to close the lid? Now I have to have keyboard/mouse pain? #FacePalm
Can anyone confirm if this update has been released? Or when it will? It's part of my buying decision!
Surprised it wasn't already. Could be part of 13.4 beta?
I'd be very surprised if Apple released this update in October with MacOS 14.
Even more surprised if Apple canceled it all together.
Did you mean beta for MacOS 14.5 and MacOS 15 in the Fall of 2024?
Yes. Sorry. These OS numbers getting me confused. 14.5 Beta or 15.0 Beta 1.
Not 14.5 but I'm on macOS 15 Sequoia beta 3. It is now functional. I can plug one HDMI and one USB-C external monitors, they all work while lid is closed. If all it required was an firmware update, two USB-C monitors should also work, just like M3 MacBook Air.
I'm not sure if this is already available in previous betas or later Sonoma versions, but I just got the chance to test it out.
Thank you for the info! Between that and iPhone mirroring I’m thinking I’m going to install the Public Beta or the Developer Beta. I’m running the Developer Beta of iOS 18 on my iPhone. I do use Acronis Cyber Protect (formerly True Image) to backup my system to the cloud in addition to getting local Time Machine backups ups and I’m sure the the beta probably breaks it but I can easily grab another Hard Drive and rotate them keeping a backup drive at my office because I’d love to have two displays in clamshell mode!
macOS Sonoma 14.6 Adds Dual External Display Support to M3 14-Inch MacBook Pro
The macOS Sonoma 14.6 update that Apple released today includes dual display support, an important feature specifically for the 14-inch M3 MacBook...
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