MacBook M3 Dual Monitor Support Is a Big Deal
One of the most interesting announcements from Apple’s recent presentation of the new M3-based MacBook Air is the fact that it will natively support dual monitors. This may seem like a small thing, but it’s actually a feature that has been missing from the MacBook Air line and even some lower-end MacBook Pro models until now.
The gap between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is closing
If you’ve purchased a MacBook Air in the past few years, you may have been disappointed to learn that you can’t simply connect two external monitors and get started right away. For someone who uses their MacBook Air every day of the week, the ability to connect it to external monitors can be very useful in expanding your workspace.
Unfortunately, Apple hasn’t allowed the lower-end MacBook Pro or MacBook Air line to use dual monitors natively since introducing its M-branded silicon chips. Instead, you had to buy additional adapters and jump through various hoops to make this happen. If you didn’t want to use adapters, you had to buy one of the more expensive MacBook Pro options, effectively denying that feature to users who wanted a more affordable laptop.
So, it’s really nice to see Apple adding this feature to the M3-based MacBook Air, as it further narrows the gap between Apple’s more expensive laptop offerings and the more affordable MacBook Air options, giving you another reason to upgrade if you don’t have not anymore.
The company says the M3-based MacBook Air will now support one external monitor at up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, and a second at a maximum resolution of 5K at 60Hz. This is more than enough for MacBook Air users, and now you don’t have to spend $3,000 or more to take advantage of it. Additionally, Apple says it will bring dual-monitor support to the M3-powered MacBook Pro with a software update. This means that anyone who didn’t spend money on M3 Pro chips will still be able to take advantage of this great feature, giving you even more options when choosing your next MacBook.
Meanwhile, MacBook Pro users with the M2 Pro or M3 Pro chip can already handle two external displays, while MacBook Pro users with the M2 Max or M3 Max chip can use up to four external displays simultaneously. , so there are still plenty of reasons to go with these higher-end models if you need those extra features and the performance these chips offer.
For more information on how many displays your Mac supports, see this helpful Apple Support document .