Wow, all this over the ability to run external 60 Hz displays
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M3 MacBook Pro to Get Multi-Display Support With Software Update
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Is that so? Couldn't possibly be that there were engineering nuances that they hadn't worked out yet at the time of M3's launch that prevented them from supporting it at the time.
There is literally ZERO reason for them to withhold a feature like this and then add it later. Zero. If they want to withhold it to create artificial segmentation, then you don't add it later. They simply hadn't worked it out yet on the M3 a few months ago, and they made sure it was ready by the time the M3 Air launched.
That reflects a lot on you then. I’m 200% happy with my switch, focal Bathys headphones and my lg b9 tv….
What I meant is that, if being objective, it’s hard to not some sort of nitpick about basically anything.
Even if it’s tiny, it’s technically knocking things down from 100%
I’d always personally cap out at 99%, just to be truthful
Hooray, MacBooks with the base M chips finally get the 'Mac mini mode'! Amazing 😅
It was removed when they switched to the M chips. A 2018 MacBook Air supported 2 external displays while still using the internal display
This is what I want to know. I removed my 3rd display and put my 16" M3 Pro in its place to maintain a third display. If I could remount my old display and tuck this in a corner, that would be superb.
So lets hope some one hacks this to give more monitor![]()
Apple is planning a software update that will add multi-display support to the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro model, the company confirmed to 9to5Mac. The M3 MacBook Air models that were introduced today include support for up to two 5K external displays when used in clamshell mode, a feature that is not currently available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the same M3 chip.
![m3-macbook-pro-blue.jpg]()
With the two machines using the same M3 chip, it was not clear why the MacBook Air has the feature while the MacBook Pro does not, but it is an issue that Apple plans to rectify. In the near future, a software update will add the option for the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro to drive two external displays when the lid of the machine is closed.
Both the M3 MacBook Air and the M3 MacBook Pro offer support for one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz when the display is open, and with the update, the M3 MacBooks will also be able to power two 5K external displays with a resolution of up to 60Hz. That is equivalent to the Studio Display, so users can expect to be able to run two of Apple's 5K displays in clamshell mode.
The higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pro models are already able to drive multiple displays, so this change only applies to the 14-inch MacBook Pro that has the M3 chip. This machine replaced the prior-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro, which Apple has now done away with.
Article Link: M3 MacBook Pro to Get Multi-Display Support With Software Update
Can we please get two displays through one USB-C cable (docking station)? That would be even better. Windows PCs can do that. Really surprised a Mac can’t.
I also have a Surface Go. The two monitors on my desk right now are the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR. The Surface go can't drive either, at native resolution/scaling. M3 Air can tho.
Do you actually have to put the laptop in clamshell mode to use the two external monitors, or can you just disable the laptop screen in the monitor settings? I believe these machines suck in some of their air through the keyboard deck, so it'd be advantageous to keep that cooling capability if possible.
A 2018 MacBook Air running two 4K displays performed like ***
Do you mean 3 displays? If they put the M3 Pro in a mini or studio it will absolutely be able to handle 3 external displays.
👍
Close the lid. Apple has an image of it like this in their marketing material for the M3 Air.
I run 2 studio displays through 1 cable (along with a 10Gb ethernet and a bunch of other ports).
My understanding was that there is driving hardware to output DisplayPort protocol, and it could do so to the DisplayPort-linked screen, over USB-C, or to the HDMI circuitry. The baseline Mx chip has capacity to drive two DisplayPort streams.
I don't know whether this is a DisplayPort signal going to the USB-C circuitry (it's all inside the SoC after all). It could be that the reason for hardware at all is to deal with nonsense like video copy protection.
So I don't think we have ever had a definitive answer as to whether the M1/M2 laptops had a hard-wired binding to the laptop screen for one of the two, but it certainly appears the M3 does not.
There's a behavioral decision too - when I open my laptop with two screens attached, does a random screen go away or does the laptop screen stay dark?
Most people, myself included, said there might be hardware differences, but we wouldnt know without a teardown. Not that it fundamentally couldn’t be done.
I agree.
It still exists on the Intel models. They didn't remove it.
It never existed on M series chips. They didn't remove it.
Sure, it sucks, but you’re also buying for what you need in the moment, and at the time, the M3 didn’t support it. There’s not much you can really do about that.