Macs With M3 Chip Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display

[4odomi]

i am surprised there aren't subscriptions to unlock certain hardware features on Apple devices at this point tbh and the excuses of people will always be "I think it is great because I dont need it".

Unlock multi display support for only 9,99€ a month

Cheaper to get an M Pro over 2 years 🤣

 

[hagjohn]

I'm surprised that Apple doesn't have its own docking station to fix this issue.

 

[JPack]

Pretty decent logic. However, Apple is not making any distinction between the M3 variants in this ad. And the "up to" numbers are based on the M3 Pro Max.

Apple makes a distinction. You can read the full press release. No, the "up to" numbers are not based on M3 Pro/Max.

Apple unveils new MacBook Pro featuring M3 chips

Apple today announced a new MacBook Pro lineup featuring the all-new family of M3 chips: M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.

www.apple.com

 

[MacsRgr8]

Basically the M3 line up to me is:
M3 Max is great. The rest... not.

 

[gatorvet96]

All of these comments on here on what Apple "should do". They are a consumer products company and people will vote for their needs with their wallets. If they lost business because the entry level products don't support more than 1 external monitor they would change it. They (Apple) know exactly what they are doing. It is simple ladder upselling and Apple are great at it. They always want people to want something that is the next level. Works well for them or they wouldn't do it. They are in the business of generating value for the shareholders while providing the consumer with excellent products. Apple's quality and user experience is what you are paying top dollar for.

 

[collin_]

I think people may be underestimating how nice their display controllers are and possibly also the amount of space they take up on the die.

 

[4odomi]

Of all the differences between tech nerds and regular people, I think this has to be the most glaring and ridiculous—the overwhelming majority of people do not care about external displays. Casual users? Don't use external displays. Students? Don't use external displays. Hell, I'm a 30-year-old attorney, pretty tech-savvy, and I can count on two hands the number of times I've used a single external display, let alone two!

This is no great mystery. The no-modifier M-series chips are entry-level chips. Apple has chosen to "only" support a single external display with those chips for a) cost reasons, and b) market segmentation. Every manufacturer does this, they just make different choices. Apple's choice has been to make their entry-level chips run circles around every other entry-level chip (and most other mid- and high-level chips) in performance and efficiency. Intel has chosen to support more displays over making efficient chips (much to the chagrin of every person I've spoken to with a work PC laptop).

So get over it! If you need support for more than one external display, get a Pro chip!

Best comment on here on this subject, full of common sense 👏
The moaners just want everything for nothing 😏

 

[MacMikePro]

They must not know (or care) that blatantly crippling their "most powerful chip" with software just to sell the next, more expensive configuration, irritates everyone and cheapens the brand.

I think you're confusing the word "everyone" with "a tiny minority"

Look I would like support for more screens on the base chips as well, but let's not kid ourselves here, we're talking a tiny fraction of a percent of people who have dual monitor setups. The base M chips are geared toward everyday regular users, this complaint is getting ridiculous. There are hundreds of things to complain about with Apple, this is not one of them.

 

[4odomi]

Talking to some IT folks it seems pretty common that people had 2018 to 2020 Intel airs that while at work they docked to dual screen workstation setups. It used to work, and people enjoyed their small laptops.

Then all of a sudden the latest stuff can’t do it anymore. And there is no good selling point for getting everyone fat and expensive macbook pros other than the display controller. Makes Tim happy but I understand that there’s a consumer PoV that is pissed off.

Seems to me the people that are mostly pissed off are the PC users 🤣
We Mac people know what we're buying and it's use case scenario 😊

 

[Mac_The_Ripper]

The imac with an external monitor is "dual monitor".

That is why I said "But why not at least have the option to support up to two external monitors?"

 

[4odomi]

All of these comments on here on what Apple "should do". They are a consumer products company and people will vote for their needs with their wallets. If they lost business because the entry level products don't support more than 1 external monitor they would change it. They (Apple) know exactly what they are doing. It is simple ladder upselling and Apple are great at it. They always want people to want something that is the next level. Works well for them or they wouldn't do it. They are in the business of generating value for the shareholders while providing the consumer with excellent products. Apple's quality and user experience is what you are paying top dollar for.

The PC crowd complaining on here don't understand quality, just cheap, discounts & something for nothing, until it turns out it's not for nothing 🤣

 

[4odomi]

The MacBook PRO, as the name suggests, should be a PRO device so why is the basic config coming with the M3 and not the M3 PRO?

And 8 GB of unified memory is worth a PRO device? It should have 24 as a minimum.

The M3 chip hasn't got a Pro in it's name.
The MacBook Pro is the hardware and it refers to Pro Grade materials.....does that finally explain it to you?

 

[Tagbert]

i am surprised there aren't subscriptions to unlock certain hardware features on Apple devices at this point tbh and the excuses of people will always be "I think it is great because I dont need it".

Unlock multi display support for only 9,99€ a month

This is not a software lockout. There are only two hardware display controllers in the M3 base. The other M3 variants have more. Apple made the decision to budget for two display controllers in the base chip, likely based on their stats about how many users of these machines used external monitors. The display controllers are separate from the GPU and handle sending the display signal to the channels connected to the monitors. Apple could have spent more on the base chips but then they would have charged more for them. This is a compromise of features vs cost. Apple seems to have decided that if you want to use more than one external monitor then there is a good chance that you are a "professional" who is motivated to chose a more powerful machine.

 

[JPack]

Pre-2020 MacBook Air supports dual external monitors.

Somehow, Apple figured over the past three years, with advances in remote and hybrid work, nobody with a base M3 needs dual monitors anymore.

Yes, it's such a rare bird that everyone from Costco, Staples, to HP sells packs of dual monitors.

HP® Computer and Laptop Store | HP.com

Find a great collection of Laptops, Printers, Desktop Computers and more at HP. Enjoy Low Prices and Free Shipping when you buy now online.

www.hp.com

 

[jarman92]

They must not know (or care) that blatantly crippling their "most powerful chip" with software just to sell the next, more expensive configuration, irritates everyone and cheapens the brand.

It’s readily apparent that it’s a hardware limitation, not a software block.
Probably an intentional limitation, to reduce costs on their entry-level chips, but a hardware one nonetheless.

 

[4odomi]

Apple Defenders have been comparatively silent these two weeks as news of bugs, price increases, disappointing product rollouts surface one after another.

But I am sure they will be back after they manage to work around the bugs and issues on their own Apple devices and re-budget for their Apple services.

Defenders assemble!

We've been busy buying & enjoying new iPhones & now MacBook Pros, whilst having a good chucle at the PC & Android crowd, getting all emotional 🤣

 

[jarman92]

Pre-2020 MacBook Air supports dual external monitors.

Somehow, Apple figured over the past three years, with advances in remote and hybrid work, nobody with a base M3 needs dual monitors anymore.

Yes, it's such a rare bird that everyone from Costco, Staples, to HP sells packs of dual monitors.

HP® Computer and Laptop Store | HP.com

Find a great collection of Laptops, Printers, Desktop Computers and more at HP. Enjoy Low Prices and Free Shipping when you buy now online.

www.hp.com

Pre-2020 MacBooks supported 2+ external monitors because that’s what Intel provided. Now that Apple controls its own chip design and production, it’s made different and, judging by their nigh-unbelievable performance and efficiency gains, inarguably better choices.

 

[4odomi]

Wait, the M2 Pro supports three external displays, but the M3 Pro only supports two? That’s quite a significant downgrade, and limits the usefulness of the next gen Mac mini for those of us with three monitors. Unless they offer a Mac mini with M3 Max, but then might as well get a Mac Studio…

Apple upselling at its worst.

As an Apple shareholder I would say upselling at it's best 😊
Also it's about time, Apple made a real distinction between the Pro & Max Chips 👏

 

[JPack]

Pre-2020 MacBooks supported 2+ external monitors because that’s what Intel provided. Now that Apple controls its own chip design and production, it’s made different and, judging by their nigh-unbelievable performance and efficiency gains, inarguably better choices.

Apple could have not supported dual monitor on Intel-based models, just as they don't support MST, if they really didn't think people used it.

 

[Populus]

Damn, when I saw that image (I love that shade of coral BTW), I instantly thought there was a new Apple Studio Display. I’m planning to purchase one but I’m not sure if I should wait for a new model.

 

[Tagbert]

Pre-2020 MacBook Air supports dual external monitors.

Somehow, Apple figured over the past three years, with advances in remote and hybrid work, nobody with a base M3 needs dual monitors anymore.

Yes, it's such a rare bird that everyone from Costco, Staples, to HP sells packs of dual monitors.

HP® Computer and Laptop Store | HP.com

Find a great collection of Laptops, Printers, Desktop Computers and more at HP. Enjoy Low Prices and Free Shipping when you buy now online.

www.hp.com

They also sell widescreen monitors. Our company switched the old dual 1080p monitors to widescreen 1440s

widescreen monitor | Costco

Shop Costco.com for electronics, computers, furniture, outdoor living, appliances, jewelry and more. Enjoy low warehouse prices on name-brand products delivered to your door.

www.costco.com

 

[Eidorian]

All this to save a little die space. I mean Apple is losing hard with N3B already but 3 generations of this is getting old.

 

[JPack]

They also sell widescreen monitors. Our company switched the old dual 1080p monitors to widescreen 1440s

widescreen monitor | Costco

Shop Costco.com for electronics, computers, furniture, outdoor living, appliances, jewelry and more. Enjoy low warehouse prices on name-brand products delivered to your door.

www.costco.com

In most cases, a single ultrawide doesn't provide the same glass area or resolution as a pair of monitors. This is especially true for those running a pair of 4K displays.

A typical 4K 27-inch monitor is around $250. A pair costs a whopping $500. You don't need to be an extreme content creation monster to afford or use a pair of monitors these days.

 

[paul4339]

Sorry, but you’re wrong. Dual displays are becoming the norm in business.

Correct, but most businesses will just have an external display adapter/docking station.
You plug your external monitors (and devices) into the docking station; and then dock your laptop in, for nice clean desktop.

The MacBook you can do the same - especially if you get a thunderbolt based external display hub. .. it’s just not built into the laptop.
(Go to Kensington or Satcechi webpage).

 

[Bobby Smallwood]

Great! Done! Use the Windows laptop. Problem solved.

For sure, not going to pay 2k for basic feature.