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ThomasJL

macrumors 68000
Oct 16, 2008
1,605
3,537
So ******, there no reason the M1 and M2 series chips shouldn't be able to do this either. In 2024 when laptops with docking stations is becoming the defacto setup for so many professionals (who truly only need an air in 99% of the cases) it was a super ****** thing to do.
Is that greedy corporate scumbag Tim Cook intentionally disabling functionality in certain models in order to upsell customers to more expensive models?
 

applesed

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2012
533
340
With how similar m2 and m3 are id be surprised if they can’t enable this for m2 air.
 

Victor Mortimer

macrumors 6502a
Apr 17, 2016
786
1,373
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.

If you can't run it with the lid open, you absolutely should not do it.

Apple is TERRIBLE at thermal management. Running Apple laptops with the lid closed WILL slowly cook your machine. Apple doesn't care, because it usually takes long enough that AppleCare has run out.

I've seen dozens of cooked MacBook Pros. I always ask the user if they've been running it with the lid closed. It's at least 80% yes, and the other 20% had one of those stupid plastic snap on cases.
 

applesed

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2012
533
340
If you can't run it with the lid open, you absolutely should not do it.

Apple is TERRIBLE at thermal management. Running Apple laptops with the lid closed WILL slowly cook your machine. Apple doesn't care, because it usually takes long enough that AppleCare has run out.

I've seen dozens of cooked MacBook Pros. I always ask the user if they've been running it with the lid closed. It's at least 80% yes, and the other 20% had one of those stupid plastic snap on cases.
I agree on the Intel MacBook pros but not Apple silicon.
 

NT1440

macrumors G5
May 18, 2008
14,693
21,235
If you can't run it with the lid open, you absolutely should not do it.

Apple is TERRIBLE at thermal management. Running Apple laptops with the lid closed WILL slowly cook your machine. Apple doesn't care, because it usually takes long enough that AppleCare has run out.

I've seen dozens of cooked MacBook Pros. I always ask the user if they've been running it with the lid closed. It's at least 80% yes, and the other 20% had one of those stupid plastic snap on cases.
Really. The temps Apple Silicon runs at is going to do what to electronic components exactly?

Intel is the one with the heat problem, that’s what happens when you just crank the power for nearly a decade instead of actually improving your product.

The 2016 MPB design was clearly designed for the TDP that Intel promised (repeatedly, publicly in their roadmaps) but never hit. I have no idea why Apple bothered sticking an i9 in one of those, it was full fan basically the minute you looked at it.

Is there something about 45ish watts at the high end for the whole system that you think the current chassis can’t dissipate? What’s your basis for these heat claims that don’t point squarely at the toaster ovens Intel was fine selling for over a decade?
 

seek3r

macrumors 68020
Aug 16, 2010
2,276
3,236
Wonder if they could do something similar with the M3 Pro MacBooks so that they could drive three external displays in clamshell mode…

That would make an M3 Pro MacBook Pro an interesting option. I currently drive three external displays from an M2 Pro Mac mini, but that means I need a separate laptop…
I use displaylink for my 3rd screen when I want to drive all 3 from my MBP, so doable now, but having it native would be even better!
 

Black Diesel

macrumors regular
Mar 15, 2011
218
88
cool now please for my m1 air.
Here's my M1 Air with three 27" 4k monitors. We run three of these setups 24-7 with zero issues.

M1-Air-with-three-27's.jpeg
 
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v0lume4

macrumors 68020
Jul 28, 2012
2,478
5,096
If you can't run it with the lid open, you absolutely should not do it.

Apple is TERRIBLE at thermal management. Running Apple laptops with the lid closed WILL slowly cook your machine. Apple doesn't care, because it usually takes long enough that AppleCare has run out.

I've seen dozens of cooked MacBook Pros. I always ask the user if they've been running it with the lid closed. It's at least 80% yes, and the other 20% had one of those stupid plastic snap on cases.
Dang. Those are some bad numbers. Another poster replied to me and said that Apple explicitly says to close the laptop for clamshell mode. Too bad. 😕

Also lol @ "stupid plastic snap on cases." Yeah, those aren't for me.
 

Reelmower

macrumors newbie
Feb 4, 2019
28
30
We were holding out for an M3 Mac hoping that it would support two external monitors, but bought an M2 Macbook Air for my wife when we found that the M3 Macbook Pros did not support two external monitors.
One external monitor seems like an artificial limit of the M1 and M2 systems. We run a 2nd monitor with displaylink. It doesn't noticeably slow anything down. Still, I would have preferred to use built-in video. The M2 Pro was an option, but my wife doesn't need that power for anything else.
 

Jim Lahey

macrumors 68030
Apr 8, 2014
2,531
5,227
how can anyone complain about this?

Regardless of any malevolent or benevolent intent on the part of Apple, I think many who bought M3 Pro solely for the external monitor support might feel slightly put out a week later when discovering they could have spent several hundred dollars less. We can argue about the where & why all day long, but let's not pretend this has no negative consequences for paying customers.
 

theorist9

macrumors 68040
May 28, 2015
3,700
2,795
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.
That's not quite right. In clamshell, it's not 2 x 5k@60, it's 6k@60 + 5k@60. The 6k@60 is what the M3 Air can do without clamshell. With clamshell, it redirects the internal display controller to support a second external, at up to 5k@60.

That's as expected, since that's what the M2 mini, which uses the M2's internal display controller to drive a 2nd display, can support (6k@60 + 5k@60).

1709628519281.png
 
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TheWasmer

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2020
11
27


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
I'm confused by the post. I mean I own a Macbook Pro 14 inch with an M1 and it supports up to 2 external displays on top of its built-in.

Look up the tech specs here:
 

DanneP

macrumors newbie
Feb 22, 2023
23
74

hajime

macrumors 604
Jul 23, 2007
7,783
1,221
I am confused by the title. "M3 MacBook Pro" means any MacBook Pro with M3. That means any size including the 16".
 

magicschoolbus

macrumors 68020
May 27, 2014
2,473
8,044
Wish this would be enabled on the M2 Air; sadly - Apple has moved on from my device not even a year after purchase.
 
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