MacBooks only one external monitor???

[NT1440]

Serious question on those that prefer dual over one larger. I'm a programer for a corporate entity. When we did go to the office, (Pre COVID times) I'd see dual monitors and invariably Outlook would occupy one. Want to kill productivity. THAT is how you do it. Working from home on a modest 4K 24" monitor I find much better than dual 21" we had at work. I know you can even go way behind that.

What are we doing where 2 are better than one larger one?

I’m a convert myself. I used to LOVE having dual screens. Now I’m on a single 4K 27” (it’s a cheap sceptre but soooo much better on the eyes) here at home. Once the world goes back to “normal” I’m strongly considering buying an a ultra wide but I don’t want to take a step down in resolution so we’ll see what the future holds.

 

[pshufd]

I’m a convert myself. I used to LOVE having dual screens. Now I’m on a single 4K 27” (it’s a cheap sceptre but soooo much better on the eyes) here at home. Once the world goes back to “normal” I’m strongly considering buying an a ultra wide but I don’t want to take a step down in resolution so we’ll see what the future holds.

27 is small these days.

I was considering getting a 32 to go with 2 27s. But you can get 38, 43, etc. too.

 

[NT1440]

27 is small these days.

I was considering getting a 32 to go with 2 27s. But you can get 38, 43, etc. too.

I sit 14” from my monitor, 27 is arguably too big for my setup at home.

 

[pshufd]

I sit 14” from my monitor, 27 is arguably too big for my setup at home.

I'm 30 inches from my 3 monitors. I use native resolution on the 4k and QHD monitors as well so it's very information dense. I am near the limits of what I can fit on my desk though.

 

[filmbuff]

This stings. I normally use one monitor at home but if I buy a new laptop I want to get 4-5 years of use out of it and I have no idea what my setup will look like in that time. I want options to do what I want in the future. I’m going to wait till next year and see if they come out with something new like that mythical 14” laptop.

 

[polyun7]

That’s my reading on the qualifiers of

Apple is being very deliberate in their language on the supported monitor page to point out that the internal screen is considered one of the supported screens.

This leads me to think you can drive two monitors externally as long as the internal display is not engaged.

Note the oddly specific language of “in conjunction” and “in parallel” with the internal display.

I could be way off base but it’s unusually specific language to me. We’re probably gonna have to wait for the review embargo to pass to actually find out unfortunately.

I'm assuming what this means is that the Macbook Air can only duplicate the screen on an external monitor but the Pro can extend the screen. That's really limiting if that's the case. Wow.

 

[NT1440]

I'm assuming what this means is that the Macbook Air can only duplicate the screen on an external monitor but the Pro can extend the screen. That's really limiting if that's the case. Wow.

I think it’s been confirmed since then that it is only one monitor.

Im not happy about that, but I’m not in the market for their entry level series anyway. This will not be a problem with their performance models.

 

[deeddawg]

I think it’s been confirmed since then that it is only one monitor.

Im not happy about that, but I’m not in the market for their entry level series anyway. This will not be a problem with their performance models.

Only confirmation I've seen was from a support chat agent - which isn't necessarily the definitive source of concrete information we might hope, however well intentioned the individual may be.

I'm going to wait for actual user / reviewer testing of driving dual monitors in clamshell mode.

 

[NT1440]

Only confirmation I've seen was from a support chat agent - which isn't necessarily the definitive source of concrete information we might hope, however well intentioned the individual may be.

I'm going to wait for actual user / reviewer testing of driving dual monitors in clamshell mode.

Let me put it this way. If it does drive two in clamshell, I might actually upgrade from my 2015 MBP. If it doesn’t, I can live with the 1TB storage upgrade I did on my existing unit until we see what their performance line of chips does in the 13” form factor.

The only difference for me is how soon I put that hole in my wallet ?

 

[deeddawg]

Let me put it this way. If it does drive two in clamshell, I might actually upgrade from my 2015 MBP. If it doesn’t, I can live with the 1TB storage upgrade I did on my existing unit until we see what their performance line of chips does in the 13” form factor.

The only difference for me is how soon I put that hole in my wallet ?

Yep. Similar here - any system I buy need to be able to drive two external displays in clamshell mode.

Will these two-port M1 MBA/MBP models? I don't know. The published info suggests they can drive two displays -- as to whether the internal can be disabled and a 2nd external used remains to be seen.

 

[cmhsam]

Soon people will get their hands on the devices and we will know for sure if they support dual monitors or not!

 

[deeddawg]

Soon people will get their hands on the devices and we will know for sure if they support dual monitors or not!

Yep - and then we'll either have some folks wishing they'd not cancelled their orders, or we'll have some new order cancellations.


I'm considering making an order, and this will be a deciding criteria. Still also sort of wondering if I might be well served with waiting for a future 4-port model. My compute loads aren't frequent or intense so not sure there's a need.

 

[jqc]

Serious question on those that prefer dual over one larger. I'm a programer for a corporate entity. When we did go to the office, (Pre COVID times) I'd see dual monitors and invariably Outlook would occupy one. Want to kill productivity. THAT is how you do it. Working from home on a modest 4K 24" monitor I find much better than dual 21" we had at work. I know you can even go way behind that.

What are we doing where 2 are better than one larger one?

I do exactly this, have outlook on one monitor - why does that kill productivity? Im constantly on outlook, word, powerpoint, PDF and Safari, often using two at a time, so two monitors makes it easy to separate the apps and run in each in full screen - which is useful as you can see all the content at once (think a page on powerpoint). I was running two 24" during summer with my 13" 2013 MBP that was also open (would have iMessage, WhatsApp, Teams on MBP screen) and now on a 27" iMac and a second 27" monitor.

I will admit though, I am considering one ultra wide as it should reduce neck soreness from turning head back and forth.... so maybe these Macs are good enough after all.

But then again, the high end 13" and 16" should be even better.

 

[surroundfan]

The new M1 Macs are the first Apple products that have excited me in many, many years, and hence it's the first time I've logged into this forum in many, many years. But I digress...

I've ordered a M1 MBP and this thread got me thinking (not that I'll use it with an external display). One thing that I don't think has been explicitly drawn out is that both Thunderbolt ports on the new MacBook support DisplayPort. This suggests there would be nothing preventing dual monitor support while the laptop is in clamshell is closed.

But as noted, we'll have to wait for people to get M1s into their hot little hands before we know definitively...

 

[xander09]

Yep. Plus the Mini supports dual external displays, one being via HDMI port. So that does raise a question about driving dual displays over TB/USBC.

My suspicion is that the HDMI port on the mini is using the same PCI lanes as the internal display does on the Air and Pro.

But, as the throughput of a 6K display is greater than 2x 4K or lower resolution displays, it does seem an peculiar limitation for the Air & Pro to only be able to use 1 external display regardless of resolution. FWIW, I'll be very surprised if this new architecture and DisplayLink play nicely with each other out of the gate. Might be an option down the road, but DL tends to break with OS updates, never mind complete platform changes.

We need white papers for these M1 Macs!!

 

[xander09]

I'm assuming what this means is that the Macbook Air can only duplicate the screen on an external monitor but the Pro can extend the screen. That's really limiting if that's the case. Wow.

I do not think Apple intends that distinction, though I see how the "in parallel" language could suggest mirroring. My guess is it was used more in the "alongside" meaning of "in parallel."

The tech specs page makes no mention of a mirroring limitation and the language is the same for the Air and Pro: "Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz"

 

[hym17519]

Hey guys -- so, I had a macbook pro for work that had a hardware issue once while under warranty, and then again while not under warranty, so work bought me a new 2020 mpb with the silicon chip. Yes, using the small usb cables, only 1 monitor can be plugged in at a time -- just discovered today, as I picked up the new computer at the physical office. However - I installed the displaylink driver, and now I have my two external monitors and the computer screen in use - hope this helps!