M2 pro 13 or m1 air for dual monitors?

[Kmeans4]

I just ordered a mbp m2 13 with 16gb initially thinking so I could easily use dual monitors and now I’m realizing after doing more research that is not the case. I know there are workaround but is there going to be a difference in performance if I go with the m1 mba with 16gb instead with the workaround? It would save about 300$ for me.

I’d go with the 14” but the mbp with 16gb is already a little over budget for me.

Also any suggestions for cheap workarounds are welcome too!

 

[flapflapflap]

curious to know if the M2 MBP support a wider range of scaled resolutions for ultra wide monitors

 

[Kmeans4]

curious to know if the M2 MBP support a wider range of scaled resolutions for ultra wide monitors

I didn’t even think of that. Hopefully it works well with my 34 Ultrawide. I’ll let you know

 

[BeatCrazy]

I just ordered a mbp m2 13 with 16gb initially thinking so I could easily use dual monitors and now I’m realizing after doing more research that is not the case. I know there are workaround but is there going to be a difference in performance if I go with the m1 mba with 16gb instead with the workaround? It would save about 300$ for me.

I’d go with the 14” but the mbp with 16gb is already a little over budget for me.

Also any suggestions for cheap workarounds are welcome too!

The workaround for dual monitor support would be the same for either M1/M2 Air. It's a software-based solution that needs a dock or dongle. I personally haven't used one with my Air, but I have in in the past and the results were unacceptable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/displaylink-manager-updated-with-native-support-for-m1-macs-and-more.2284799/

 

[JPack]

Get base MBP 14 instead.

To get DisplayLink working reliably, you need a proper one that will cost at least $100. The cheap ones overheat and eventually fail. Dell D6000 and similar docks are a couple hundred dollars because they have a massive heatsink inside.

 

[jav6454]

I just ordered a mbp m2 13 with 16gb initially thinking so I could easily use dual monitors and now I’m realizing after doing more research that is not the case. I know there are workaround but is there going to be a difference in performance if I go with the m1 mba with 16gb instead with the workaround? It would save about 300$ for me.

I’d go with the 14” but the mbp with 16gb is already a little over budget for me.

Also any suggestions for cheap workarounds are welcome too!

For dual monitors you need a 14" MBP. Forget the Air.

 

[hungryghosty]

I didn’t even think of that. Hopefully it works well with my 34 Ultrawide. I’ll let you know

I currently have a 34" ultrawide monitor and was contemplating buying a new Macbook Air M2 next month. I presume there will be no issue using that with an M1/2 Macbook Air?

I take it that it works OK if you use the Macbook's display open alongside the 34" Ultrawide (3440x1440?) and it's only a problem with the M1/2 Macbook Air if you specifically want to use dual/multiple external monitors?