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Macs With M3 Chip Still Officially Support Only a Single External Display
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His example is just some edge case, that's not what 99% engineers in IT usually need. Running 4 remote desktops, yeah, right..
Two screens and a better CPU for faster builds... Pro or Max.
Why wouldn't it be beneficial for a PC laptop to not be hideous, have more than 5-6 hours battery life, and be remotely as performant as an M-series Mac?
Of course it would be beneficial, but it would also carry a cost. Apple has chosen to sell an entry-level machine at the cost of (extremely niche) dual-external-display support. Other manufacturers choose to sell cheaper machines at the cost of internal display quality, battery life, build quality, performance, etc.
because some also want to be able to be portable at times
what is hard to get about this?
Because "Pro" definition exists only in your head. Professional copywriter doesn't need that. Professional doctor doesn't need that.
Defending everything Apple does is a tired, lazy argument, only meant to fan the flames of troll wars. It has nothing to do with real world purchase decisions, because we all judge our computers by many, many, many different factors.
...and this is why MacRumor is becoming increasingly tedious.
Ever heard about climate change? And Apple posing as a green company? Well, it's not very green to buy a faster chip, more ram just to run two displays. Or not very green to suppose people should throw out two perfectly working displays and buy another one just to save Timmy's bonus.
Oh, can be easily reversed.
Having many displays isn't too green either, you know. They consume more than M3 MBP. So use one. Or just use built-in.
If it were any other company I would say yes, but since it's Apple they'll just split Mac OS into a free version and a pay for play pro version. As long as you pay the monthly fee, you'll get all the pro features. But first, they have to give you a reason to pay more, so they'll limit the functionality of their devices artificially long enough to build demand for a pay version. Too cheap to get an iMac Pro? Buy the cheap one with pro OS and pay us the money you took from us by not buying the expensive model.
Or use AirPlay for a third screen. If it were a limitation of bandwidth, why can’t you use a 2nd external monitor once the laptop lid is closed. We use displaylink, which works just fine.
External monitor support is the only thing I don’t like about my wife’s m2 macbook air. I stupidly bought the last intel MacBook Air for myself. The rumors were out, but I just wanted it right then. My wife’s laptop is so much nicer in every other way.
I found a solution today. It may be common knowledge in this forum (apologies if so and am duplicating old, familiar stuff) but haven't seen anything about it posted, or elsewhere on line, so here it is. And no adapters or software downloads required - just using the Apple ecosystem.
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
My standard office set up for years was been a 2017 MBP + 2 x 27 inch LG Ultrafine 4k monitors. Monitors are good enough but they have one drawback that wasn't previously an issue - the lack of an HDMI connection. Whilst the MBP was getting long in the tooth and slowing down, the upgrade was pushed back a couple of years due to the lack of 2nd external monitor support availability (on the MBA say, or Mac mini) except on the pricier 14/16 inch MBP's. Nice machines yes, but also relatively expensive and heavy, especially when factoring in an iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard being lugged around as well.
So a year ago a 13 inch M2 MBA was bought into the fold, while still maintaining the 2017 MBP for the two external monitor capability (until today).
Solution is simple: connect one of the LG monitors to the M2 MBA. Add an iPad Pro to the MBA in Settings/Displays (point to note: this appears to work only with the latest two generations of the iPad Pro, it didn't work on the one before that) and set to extend the screen. Then connect the iPad Pro into the 2nd LG Ultrafine using the thunderbolt cable/port. You actually get four screens, although the iPad Pro and one of the LG's are mirrored.
For routine office type work this works just fine. Can finally retire the 2017 MBP and still have two decent sized external screens to work with the MacBook Air. For those who've posted and can't see why multiple screens are useful, the scenario we have is handling multiple A4 documents (this is way easier on a 27 inch screen where you can put up two A4 docs actual size, side by side, on one monitor) and still have plenty of real estate for additional docs, browsers and email.
These Forums have turned into a home for the kind of “consumer” that would complain about the weight of it if you gave them a large sack of gold.
Lucky me lives in a country where the majority of electricity is made in nuclear plants. And the displays are already manufactured and delivered. That's the big part of the carbon footprint, not using them. But nice try anyway.
Idk, if you plug external hard drive or charger, you are left with a single free port anyway on Air.
Run two RDP sessions side by side in fullscreen mode on your giant display.
Majority of electricity, but not all. Maybe it's your displays that prevent it to be all nuclear. Use built-in, save the planet.
I would say it's more than a 300$ difference, the base MBA is 1100 should also support 2 displays since it basically has the same specs as the base MBP. I'm not going to pay $1000 more to get a mac that supports dual displays, I would rather just use a windows laptop to get this most basic feature.
People who read these threads aren't normal folk! Normal people just use a laptop, well, on their lap and wouldn't even consider attaching a monitor or even know how to. It really isn't a deal breaker for the vast majority.
Well, if you can't use logic, or reason, why not just rant from your couch about how Apple won't give you a BMW M3 for the price of a Kia Soul?
Yeah, I have a CVT and it's... fine. Very utilitarian and efficient.Our vehicles have paddle shifters, don't be tempted to upgrade to a higher trim level to have them. The only time they are useful is to downshift while towing (or maybe when carrying a heavy load of lumber, tile, ... in a van), as to not be totally dependent on the brakes, you can engine brake down hills, a bit while leaving a highway, coming to anticipated stops, etc. Beyond that, they're useless really, no point in trying to shift 7 or 9 gears manually on an automatic when you can barely feel or hear the engine. Just let the auto do its thing and get the best fuel economy.
Anyway.
Working on both servers? Comparing logs between two applications? Watching a progress bar on each server?
Really not understanding this question. What's the point of a big screen when I can only look at one thing on it at a time?
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.