Multi-Display Functionality In M1 M2 And M3 Chip Macs: Best Guide

Apple Silicon Macs in the base model only allow one external display to be connected. The fact that you can only natively connect one external monitor to the first generation of 2020 Apple Silicon M1 Macs, 2022 M2 Macs, and 2023 M3 Macs is one of the annoying aspects of them.

The one external display limit on the first generation M1, M2, and M3 chip Macs has caused a lot of irritation for naive customers, as even the older generation of Intel Macs can support at least two external monitors via USB-C or Thunderbolt.

The base-level M1, M2, and M3 chip Macs, which are as follows, can only handle one external display.

• M1 MacBook Pro 13 inch
• M2 MacBook Pro 13 inch
• M1 MacBook Air
• M2 MacBook Air
• M1 iMac
• M3 MacBook Pro 14 inch

This restriction regarding external monitors does not apply to Macs with the M1/M2/M3 Pro, M1/M2/M3 Max or M2 ultra chips.

Multi-Monitor Capability of M1 M2 and M3 chip Macs

Your Apple Silicon Mac’s chip type will determine how many monitors it can support.

The following monitors can be supported by a first-generation Mac running the M1, M2, or M3 base-level chip:

• The M1/M2 MacBook Air, M1/M2 13-inch MacBook Pro, M1 iMac, and M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch only support one external display using either a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port.
• The 2020 M1 Mac Mini and 2023 M2 Mac Mini support two external displays—one via the Thunderbolt port and one via the HDMI connector. Using the other USB-C connector, you could attach a third monitor to the 2020 M1 Mac Mini, but you would need to utilize a docking station that supports DisplayLink.

In case your Mac has an M1 Pro chip:

• Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI connections with a maximum resolution of 6K and 60Hz allow you to connect up to two external displays to your Mac.

If the M2/M3 Pro chip is present in your Mac:

• Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI connections, which support up to 6K and 60Hz resolution for two external displays, or one Thunderbolt display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz and one HDMI display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz, may be used to connect up to two external displays to your Mac. On the other hand, you may use HDMI to connect one external monitor with a resolution of up to 4K at 240Hz or up to 8K at 60Hz.

If your Mac has an M1 Max chip:

• If you own a MacBook Pro, you can use Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI connections to connect up to four external displays to your Mac: three up to 6K resolutions and one up to 4K resolution.
• If you own a Mac studio, you can use Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) and HDMI connections to connect up to five external displays to your Mac.

If your Mac is equipped with an M2/M3 Max chip:

• You can connect up to four external displays: three through Thunderbolt, which can support up to 6K resolution at 60 Hz, and one through HDMI, which can support up to 4K resolution at 144 Hz. As an alternative, you may use Thunderbolt to connect up to three external displays with a maximum resolution of 6K at 60 Hz, or you can use HDMI to connect one external monitor with a maximum resolution of 4K at 240 Hz or 8K at 60 Hz.

If your Mac studio has an M2 Ultra chip:

• The Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) connectors and 1 HDMI allow you to connect up to five external displays to a Mac studio with an M2 Ultra chip.

Why Can Base-level M1 M2 And M3 chip Macs Only Support One Monitor?

• The cause of the Apple Silicon Mac’s base model’s ability to handle just one external display is a hardware constraint.
• The two display buffers, one for the internal display and other for the external display are located on the original M1, M2, and M3 chips.
• The upgraded M1/M2/M3 Pro, Max, or M2 ultra chips can natively handle more monitors with more buffers.

How to Identify The Number of Displays That Mac Can Support

You may quickly find out how many screens your Apple Silicon Mac supports by following these methods if you’re still not sure:

• To access About This Mac, click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your screen.
• For precise information on the MacBook Pro and ports you own, double-click on the serial number, copy it, and put it into the Apple Tech Specs search page.
• You can discover the precise number of screens your Mac can handle by tapping down on the Display Support section.

Do M2 and M3 Macs Allow Multiple External Monitors?

At the WWDC in June 2022, Apple unveiled the new M2 chip along with the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Air. The new products began arriving in July of the same year.

The introduction of a 14/16-inch M2 MacBook Pro with M2 Pro/Max chip and an M2 Mac Mini with M2 Pro chip came in January 2023 as a follow-up.

Later in 2023, it unveiled the M3 chip along with a new entry-level 14-inch, 16-inch, and 24-inch iMac MacBook Pro models.

Like the original M1 chip, the M2 chip found in the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, as well as the M3 chip found in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, are limited to supporting one external display at a time.

Both the MacBook Air and the M2 MacBook Pro 13-inch model are specified as supporting “one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz.”