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

[Fuzzball84]

Artificial limitation with the M3 chip in my opinion to get people to go up to the M3 Pro or M3 Max chip.

Your not a Pro if you aint got the Pro or Max chip

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

@MacRumors You guys have got to stop posting articles about this without some links to the technical explanations.

TL;DR — the space that the display controllers take up on the dies is yuge. On the M1 Max, they take more space than the CPU cores. It makes no sense to put them in the small dies.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1549672947060772865

ATP 535: My Computer Supports Math — Accidental Tech Podcast

Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.

atp.fm

That doesn't explain why it can't handle two externals in clamshell mode.

 

[zach-coleman]

The $1600 MacBook Pro might be the worst value apple product of all time. Almost all of the price of the 14" M3 Pro MacBook Pro with all of the limitations (monitors, base specs, CPU, GPU) of a run of the mill MacBook Air.

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

You mean three monitors. Because the M1, M2 and M3 base chips are all capable of running two. In the case of laptops, or iMacs, the built-in display counts as one and then you can run one additional. In the case of the Mini, you can plug it two total.

Here in the echo chamber of this forum you'd think every Mac user out there is looking to connect three external displays. I strongly suspect most people don't care and at most are going to run one bigger display -- and probably not even that.

No, they are not capable of running any two. Most people would be happy with two displays while the built-in is turned off.

 

[eno12]

My work machine is a MBP that spends most of its time in clamshell docked to 1xUHD and 2xQHD displays at home, and occasionally, the once in a while I go in, 2xQHD displays in the office (in the office I usually leave it open and use the built in screen as my third display), but also is portable and I use it on the road and around the house away from my desk.

That’s why

Not to mention the ability to do presentations/etc by hooking up to TVs/projectors. Every conference room in every office my employer has has a pair of 4K TVs to plug into for ex

We cast to our screens in meeting rooms because, you know, not everyone is in the office these days. Also allows us to selectively share what is on the screen. Casting is going to become increasingly common.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Kings of the upsell

Tim sat on his Throne/iPhone (it was an iPhone 15 Pro, and so was nice and warm) and declared all standard M3 chips to be artificially limited. And so it was.

 

[seek3r]

We cast to our screens in meeting rooms because, you know, not everyone is in the office these days. Also allows us to selectively share what is on the screen. Casting is going to become increasingly common.

Casting is fine, but not always practical

The last time I presented at a conference I didnt exactly have a casting option for the projector, just an HDMI plug

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

You have no complaint. If you actually need more than 2 screens, you're a pro user, and you should buy pro level equipment.

Pro level equipment, like the Macbook Pro with M3?

 

[Lakersfan74]

Should be:

M3 = two monitors
M3 Pro = three monitors
M3 Max = four monitors

Rather than one, two and four

 

[eno12]

Casting is fine, but not always practical

The last time I presented at a conference I didnt exactly have a casting option for the projector, just an HDMI plug

But in those cases you always connect to a single display. Never been at a single conference where there were multiple displays that were detectible by my Mac. If they had them they had a splitter.

 

[ignatius345]

What's the issue?

Need to drive 3 or 4 external 6K displays? --> Choose the M3 Max option and pay more money.

Need to drive 2 external 6K displays? --> Choose the M3 Pro option and pay less money than the M3 Max option.

Need to drive 1 or 0 external 6K displays? -->> Choose the M3 chip and save a lot of money.

Yep. Same principle applies to RAM. If I only need 8GB of RAM, I'm way happier buying a base model with that instead of being forced to pay more because the budget option isn't there.

With all the above whining, apparently everyone here needs to drive 3 or 4 external 6K displays. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

I think a disproportionate number of people who come to a forum like this are indeed enthusiasts or "power users" who want or need more capabilities. Which is fair! But then people tend to generalize their needs and assume the average Mac users "needs" to run multiple external displays or whatever and then get all incensed that it's not available on the lower tier models.

I'd like paddle shifters and a sunroof on my Honda Accord, but I was on a budget when I bought it and got the lower trim level that doesn't have these things. And I'm glad they DID offer the lower trim level because it met my needs and I saved many many thousands of dollars. Same principle.

 

[Royksöpp]

Well technically it can support 2 displays if you use an iPad in sidecar. 🤷‍♂️

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

How many 5K60 or 6K60 displays

The same amount I have at home and care to run.

 

[eno12]

Pro level equipment, like the Macbook Pro with M3?

Or the Macbook Pro with M2? Exact same limitation. The base 14" replaced the 13" and is a huge upgrade in many ways. It did not replace any existing SKU for the 14".

 

[Saturn1217]

I use 3 external monitors regularly. Have for several years. I’m a software developer. It truly sucks that my ****** old 2017 Intel MBP could handle this set up just fine but my $2499 M1Pro 14” MBP needs a 3rd party hack to work with the same setup. I don’t need a Max chip nor do I want the battery hit that will have in a 14” for factor (my preference for personal use). Every time new Apple Silicon is introduced the ONLY thing I am looking for is an improvement in external display support. But I am always disappointed.

I guess I’ll just stick with my 14” until it dies. I’d love a 15” MBA (literally was so excited for that computer) but it has the same limitations and it looks like M3 isn’t going to change anything. Very disappointing.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Should be:

M3 = two monitors
M3 Pro = three monitors
M3 Max = four monitors

Rather than one, two and four

Prediction

M4 SE = half a monitor
M4 = one monitor
M4 Pro = one monitor and reintroduced Touch Bar Pro
M4 Max = one monitor and reintroduced Touch Bar Pro Plus

M4 Maxi Max = 10 x 8k Monitors with Touch Bar Maxi Max (base model is $50k)

 

[hans1972]

Watch the video. That guy highlights the downgrades pretty well and with hard, tangible proof from Apple's own website and published information.

Defenders will spin that none of that matters, that "99% won't be able to notice", etc. but they shouldn't have to defend. Progress should be FORWARD, not selectively backwards to harvest a few more bucks of margin.

Apple should design the products how they want them to be.

Your only job is to decide if you want to buy the product or not. If you don't want to buy the product, don't complain, just suffer in silence.

 

[bigboy29]

I can see it now:

When Apple releases their low cost MacBook (rumored) - it will support one external monitor but only in amber!

(Yup, look that up, kids!)

 

[seek3r]

But in those cases you always connect to a single display. Never been at a single conference where there were multiple displays that were detectible by my Mac. If they had them they had a splitter.

I have, and used them for times when we want to show code on one and a presentation or ui on the other, probably a bit of a niche case though tbf

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

That’s a bit harsh. But you do have a point. Most non-pro people don’t even use an external display. If you really need two displays, you most likely also benefit from the Pro or Max power. So it does make sense.

Real pros don't use local computing resources, and I'm just only half-joking.

 

[hardwickj]

But all those other solutions slow things down, use more resources, and that display has limitations on what they display well.

2 total displays for the base M chips is what Apple will allow based on the performance level they want to advertise.

No, they don't. What are you even talking about? Sidecar on an iPad Pro 12.9" is still running HiDPI (2732x2048 scaled to 1288x946). That would likely be more demanding than running a 4k monitor at native resolution, and that's not even considering the added overhead of having to transport it over USB in whatever proprietary way they are using. Regardless, running a 4K display on an Air w/ Sidecar doesnt cause it to break a sweat. I mean FFS, the M3 is nearing or exceeding the performance of my M1 Max, and I'm running 3x4K monitors with that and the GPU doesn't flinch. The overall power consumption rarely breaks 7w. It's not an issue due to "other solutions slow things down" or "use more resources". It's absolutely 100% an artificial limitation imposed by Apple to upsell customers to an M3 Pro/Max.

 

[seek3r]

Real pros don't use local computing resources, and I'm just only half-joking.

Even just teams+browser+ide/editor+outlook+etc can eat an absurd amount of resources today to be fair

But yes, personally for ex I can get away with my MBP being my main dev machine and not need a beefy desktop is that all my truly heavy lifting is done on either cloud or on prem vsphere machines with *far* more compute and ram

 

[spcopsmac21]

Macs equipped with the standard M3 chip still support only one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, according to Apple's tech specs. So far, the chip is available in the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 24-inch iMac.

This limitation has existed since the first Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip were released in 2020, but users can connect multiple external displays to M1, M2, and M3 Macs with DisplayLink adapters as an unofficial workaround. One exception is the Mac mini, which will likely be updated with the M3 chip next year and should retain support for up to two external displays, given that it lacks a built-in display.

The higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models support up to two external displays with the M3 Pro chip, and up to four with the M3 Max chip.

M3 chip display support:M3 Pro chip display support:

M3 Max chip display support:The new MacBook Pro models are now available to order, and most configurations will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, November 7. M3 Max configurations will be available later in November.

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

It’s a joke. Wait, it’s not April….
The iMac feels dead. A 24” iMac at $1500 with 8gb of ram and 256gb ssd.
It’s got to be a joke.

 

[eropko]

One still can use a 2-display hub to overcome this?

 

[FindingAvalon]

Macs equipped with the standard M3 chip still support only one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, according to Apple's tech specs. So far, the chip is available in the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 24-inch iMac.

This limitation has existed since the first Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip were released in 2020, but users can connect multiple external displays to M1, M2, and M3 Macs with DisplayLink adapters as an unofficial workaround. One exception is the Mac mini, which will likely be updated with the M3 chip next year and should retain support for up to two external displays, given that it lacks a built-in display.

The higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models support up to two external displays with the M3 Pro chip, and up to four with the M3 Max chip.

M3 chip display support:M3 Pro chip display support:

M3 Max chip display support:The new MacBook Pro models are now available to order, and most configurations will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, November 7. M3 Max configurations will be available later in November.

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

Just say “no” to Apple’s greed!