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

[Eric_WVGG]

@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/i/web/status/1549672947060772865

ATP 535: My Computer Supports Math — Accidental Tech Podcast

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

atp.fm

 

[mrat93]

What’s next, a monthly monitor subscription?

Multi-monitor support — free with iCloud+

 

[minik]

Apple has the data, I work in the HigherEd sector and majority of them don't even connect to an external monitor with the iMac. If you're in the market for a desktop and multiple monitors, Apple has the Mac mini to sell you. However Apple told us the top request on the 15-inch MacBook Air was multiple displays support. 😅

 

[awshucks]

Officially a turnoff for me.

 

[Mizouse]

At least the HDMI port on the M3 14” MBP supports 4k 120hz

HDMI digital video output

• Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 120Hz (M3)
• Support for one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz (M3 Pro and M3 Max)

 

[DribbleCastle]

This is THE single biggest drawback to Apple silicon. In generation 3, it’s a joke and embarrassing. I usually defend Apple, but it just feels like a money grab based on purposeful product differentiation.

 

[awshucks]

My ThinkPad T440s from 2013 supports up to 3 external displays.

This is embarassing.

2018 MBA supported 2 external displays. Makes the m3 a downgrade when it comes to displays.

 

[jonnysods]

You know what supported more displays? Intel Macs. For all their boasting, and their chips are incredible, I find this to be the most scandalous issue with AS.

 

[ignatius345]

It is nonsense to pay over 2.5K to be able to work with 2 basic monitors.

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.

 

[contacos]

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

 

[Spidder]

@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/i/web/status/1549672947060772865

ATP 535: My Computer Supports Math — Accidental Tech Podcast

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

atp.fm

Don't bother trying to explain this kind of stuff to MR folks. Half of em come here to post "Apple bad".

 

[bigboy29]

While I am not personally impacted by this (I use only Ultra Wide monitor as external display) - I will add my disappointment to the pile. In 2023, there should not be a computer that does not support 2 external displays. Sure, make them both half the resolution (so 2K) if there are actual bandwidth limits in the silicon. But allow 2 displays.

Yes you can use DisplayLink but that kind of sucks in other ways.

 

[smulji]

My ThinkPad T440s from 2013 supports up to 3 external displays.

This is embarassing.

Yeah well, it also runs Windows

 

[RMo]

[M3 Mac Mini] should retain support for up to two external displays, given that it lacks a built-in display.

You'd think they could at least support two external displays on an M3 MBP in clamshell mode, then...

 

[boswald]

Forgive my ignorance, but why does anyone need a separate monitor for a laptop? Isn’t the whole point of a laptop the ability to have everything you need in one portable machine?

 

[erikkfi]

‘Amateurs’ only need one monitor
‘Pros’ can use two.

People named Max can use 3.

 

[smulji]

Forgive my ignorance, but why does anyone need a separate monitor for a laptop? Isn’t the whole point of a laptop the ability to have everything you need in one portable machine?

Because some people use laptops as desktop replacements.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Those who can read shall inherit the earth. Or something along that line.

M1/2/3 all support 2 displays, with the Mini these 2 are external while for everything else it's 1 external plus the build in.
2 screens is more than enough for 99% of users even more if you look at the target audience.

As for being artificial, for me it seems that there is a limit of outputs per GPU cluster, hence you get more the bigger the chip you buy. A far cry from yesteryear where Apple would put an (easily defeated) FirmWare block on using the really independent external VGA on iBooks/iMacs for anything but mirror mode.

Yes - rendering a full screen email, word processor, and YouTube all at once is crippling. No way the base M3 could possibly handle that. It definitely needs more GPU clusters to handle all that raytracing that goes on in Word and Pages, applications which have hardly had their GUI meaningfully change in over two decades.

 

[JMO1]

I feel like Apple is working really hard at trying to get their customers to hate them. Price / Value is diminishing.

 

[Lukomaldini]

I get the frustration, but I don’t really see it as a big deal. I personally use an additional monitor and for my workflow 2 monitors wouldn’t help much. I much prefer using the laptop display and another monitor. I get workflows that would benefit from additional displays but this laptop is probably not for them.

 

[boswald]

Because some people use laptops as desktop replacements.

So why not get a desktop then? I thought the purpose of a laptop is to free yourself from being stuck with a desktop.

 

[victorvictoria]

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

 

[ignatius345]

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

But how else would they stir the pot and get people riled up?

 

[eno12]

Forgive my ignorance, but why does anyone need a separate monitor for a laptop? Isn’t the whole point of a laptop the ability to have everything you need in one portable machine?

I think the primary market for the base M-series chip will only use the internal display or connect one external display (TV) at any time. Apple has more data on the needs of their customers than MR commentators. The limitation is just fine.

I, personally, need a beefier processor and a lot of display space (bought an M3 Max) but only ever use a single 5120x1440 external display because it is better in every way than having two 27" displays. I think most of the complainers are just full of it. The limitation it a technical one based on how the chip is designed. Yes, Apple could improve the number of supported displays, but it would come at a cost and would not benefit most of the people who buy the base machine. I know a lot of people who buy the base model and exactly 1 of them uses any external display. The one who does has always had a single external display they use when at their desk.

 

[Mr. Dee]

When I just got my M1 MBP 13 back in 2020, I was using it with a single 24 inch monitor, but eventually stopped after a while. Its actually nice to have, especially with macOS adding features such as Stage Manager which eats up more desktop space. At work, its just standard to have two displays connected to a laptop. Apple really should have added support for at least two on the entry level MacBook Pro. My cheap Dell Latitude 5510 at work can drive up to three 24 inch displays easily. Apple is just trying push users up to the more expensive models with this strategy.