5 ms·

The fact that I can't connect more than one monitor to my M1-based iMac is a fucking travesty.

ChuckNorris89 5y ago
May I ask why? I assume you were aware of this limitation, as Apple was pretty clear in the specs about it, that it only supports one external monitor. If you pull the trigger on a purchase without reading the specs, then it's pretty much on you, no?
- bombcar 5y ago
  It didn’t become widely known until after the M1s had shipped - I was caught unexpected after someone at work couldn’t connect two to theirs.
  - chrisfinazzo 5y ago
    Pretty much this. At the moment, I am trying to sort this out for my parents who bought a MacBook Air to replace a 12" MacBook and want to know if it is still possible to use a pair of 23" 1080p HP displays with it. They don't care about resolution so much, nor does my brother who tested this setup with his 2017 MacBook - bad keyboard and all. (On that front, last I heard, there was a hidden preference for non-HiDPI displays which has been completely removed, causing some issues.) So far as I can tell, it is possible to run more than 1 display on the M1 - but it requires using a version of the DisplayLink driver with some extra [hardware][1], which is not exactly straightforward and I question how well this works in practice. Sonnett is not the only one doing this, but it's the first one I found. [1]: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-adapter/overview.html https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-a...
    - bombcar 5y ago
      At least one person at work is using something like that to drive two displays from the M1, so I suspect it can be made to work well enough.
      - jq-r 5y ago
        I have two external monitors on my M1 Air. The "main" one is connected via hdmi and runs at 120Hz, and another one is connected via DisplayLink compatible adapter which is connected via usb to the same usb hub as the first monitor. That hub is then connected with two usb type-c connectors+cables to the laptop. It works quite fine. There is a small caveat though. The monitor connected with DisplayLink has a very small input lag, but for light work it works just fine. I would not tolerate it for a main monitor (some people would I guess), but it defintely is much better than not having a monitor.
        Forgeties79 5y ago
        What adaptors/dongles are you using? I could really use a solution that keeps at least one monitor 120hz
        jq-r 5y ago
        The hub is a Ugreen branded one with two USB type C connectors which you can plug directly to your laptop. It also has 2 HDMI, 1 USB type A connectors, USB type C power input, and SD+micro SD card reader. I don't advise plugging this hub directly to your laptop because it heats up and that heats up the laptop's battery which I'm sure doesn't like it. I just keep it on two short USB type C cables so the heat doesn't transfer to the laptop. I've been using it for two years like this. The DisplayLink compatible adapter is then connected to that hub via USB type A cable. It is made by Startech and has two DisplayPort connectors as outputs. I only use one out of those.
        chrisfinazzo 5y ago
        You mentioned input lag - how noticeable is this effect and is it something you can "hide" by increasing the tracking speed or other settings? While it might be down to the mediocre Logitech gear he's using, one complaint I have gotten on occasion is how the cursor does not always keep up with his mouse inputs.
        jq-r 5y ago
  - shadowfacts 5y ago
    Yes it was? It's literally on the tech specs page and was widely reported: > Video Support > 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 https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/
  - minhazm 5y ago
    But the comment says "M1-based iMac". The M1 iMac was released 6 months after M1 was first released with the Mac Mini, Macbook Air/Pro. I can understand if you bought the original M1 Air/Pro and were surprised it doesn't support more than 1 external display since it was indeed surprising behavior. But 6 months after the release of the chip is plenty of time to be informed on what you're buying.
  - threeseed 5y ago
    > It didn’t become widely known until after the M1s had shipped This is nonsense. For every product Apple sells they list the technical specs on the website at the same time it is on sale. And it clearly states for the iMac that it supports a single display.
    - Forgeties79 5y ago
      I get what you are saying, but most people don’t question if a computer can support 2 external monitors in 2021/2022, so it’s very unlikely they would glance at that in the specs. Hell my 2016 MBPro can push at least 4 external monitors. Maybe more I honestly don’t know, it’s not like I ever needed that information. It’s like a more extreme version of buying a phone and finding out it doesn’t come with a charger. Sure, it’s probably somewhere on the box, but who wouldn’t be surprised?
      - ChuckNorris89 5y ago
        >but most people don’t question if a computer can support 2 external monitors in 2021/2022 And yet Apple has shipped just that. Apple is notorious for removing features that have been standard for years so they can sell you the "solution" at an extra cost (a.k.a the Apple tax), so, if you just impulsively buy the latest 'shiny' without reeding the spec sheet, then sorry, but that's 100% on you. It's the basics of leveraging market segmentation, a tactic which Apple is perfect at. They determined that whoever buys a MacBook Air probably has no need for more than one external monitor, so they removed that feature that was a given on Intel based systems to save cost, and assumed that people who run multi monitor setups are more likely to be businesses and professionals who can pony up the extra cash for a more expensive M1 Pro/Max model. It's how Apple, and others, squeezes more money out of their customer base, and now with their own silicon, they can now charge you extra for what was standard on basic Intel chips 8 years ago. Enjoy ;) I also don't like this practice, which is why I don't own any Apple HW, but I can't blame Apple here when it's their customer base at fault for buying their products without reading the spec sheet where Apple was transparent about the limitations of the basic M1 chip.
        5y ago
  - jsjohnst 5y ago
    > 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 Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20201110215047/https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201110215047/https://www.apple... Literally stated on the tech specs day of launch. Yes, Apple historically under promises[0] and over delivers, but in this case they stated exactly what it supported. [0] Apple has never claimed support for more than 3x monitors to my knowledge on a laptop, but using an Intel MBP I was able to drive nine, all GPU backed without using Displaylink.
    - Forgeties79 5y ago
      I've got to ask: What on earth did you need 9 monitors for!?
      - jsjohnst 5y ago
        Was just testing what was possible, didn’t actually use it in normal daily use.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Presumably because similarly priced Intel Macs could connect to 2 or 3 displays with it's pathetically underpowered iGPU?
- MisterSandman 5y ago
  Not really, every single Mac Mini I can think of in the past decade has been able too support more than one display. Honestly, it's the kind of thing I just assume an expensive machine (yes $700 is expensive) would support.
  - Forgeties79 5y ago
    Yeah I don’t get how so many people are going “you should’ve read the specs!” Who confirms features that virtually everyone computer has had for a decade?
ecshafer 5y ago
Why can't you? I am typing this from an M1-MPB with two monitors. I just have 1 through thunderbolt and 1 through the hdmi.
- goosedragons 5y ago
  You clearly have an M1 Pro or M1 Max MPB since you have an HDMI port. The base M1 models support the built-in display and 1 external display except the M1 Mini that's allowed 1 monitor over HDMI and 1 external display over TB. The Pro, Max and Ultra M1 models allow more displays.
- the_svd_doctor 5y ago
  I have a "MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)" and I clearly can't have 2 external monitors. I tried everything.
  - js2 5y ago
    That model has built-in support for a single external display in addition to the built-in display. If you want a second external display, you have to use third-party DisplayLink technology, which may be good enough depending upon your use case, but is inferior to built-in support.
    - JohnBooty 5y ago
      Parent poster could also connect additional displays: - via Sidecar on an iPad - via Airplay on a display of their choosing Just mentioning workarounds, not excusing things.
  - aenis 5y ago
    I had a m1 mbp and have used three external monitors from day one. Used a startech 3x4k hub for that. It uses display link - which is sw-based rendering. Worked like a charm for dev work. You likely couldnt tell that from directly connected monitors unless you wanted to push rapidly changing content (like scrolling through logs at 60 screen-heights per second) - then compression would be indeed visible. For work, videos and occasional session of gzdoom it was a-ok.
JohnBooty 5y ago
I'm an absolute fiend for screen real estate, and I'm not excusing this. It's a reason I didn't jump onto the M1 bandwagon myself when the first models came out. But I don't see it as nearly reaching the level of being a "fucking travesty", in an era of affordable giant 4K monitors. At any rate, I'm certainly glad newer models fix this.
- ramijames 5y ago
  The core reason is that I want both an extra screen AND to be able to draw on my Cintiq drawing screen. On an iMac, I can't. It's stupid.

May I ask why? I assume you were aware of this limitation, as Apple was pretty clear in the specs about it, that it only supports one external monitor. If you pull the trigger on a purchase without reading the specs, then it's pretty much on you, no?

bombcar 5y ago
It didn’t become widely known until after the M1s had shipped - I was caught unexpected after someone at work couldn’t connect two to theirs.
- chrisfinazzo 5y ago
  Pretty much this. At the moment, I am trying to sort this out for my parents who bought a MacBook Air to replace a 12" MacBook and want to know if it is still possible to use a pair of 23" 1080p HP displays with it. They don't care about resolution so much, nor does my brother who tested this setup with his 2017 MacBook - bad keyboard and all. (On that front, last I heard, there was a hidden preference for non-HiDPI displays which has been completely removed, causing some issues.) So far as I can tell, it is possible to run more than 1 display on the M1 - but it requires using a version of the DisplayLink driver with some extra [hardware][1], which is not exactly straightforward and I question how well this works in practice. Sonnett is not the only one doing this, but it's the first one I found. [1]: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-adapter/overview.html https://www.sonnettech.com/product/m1-mac-dual-displayport-a...
  - bombcar 5y ago
    At least one person at work is using something like that to drive two displays from the M1, so I suspect it can be made to work well enough.
    - jq-r 5y ago
      I have two external monitors on my M1 Air. The "main" one is connected via hdmi and runs at 120Hz, and another one is connected via DisplayLink compatible adapter which is connected via usb to the same usb hub as the first monitor. That hub is then connected with two usb type-c connectors+cables to the laptop. It works quite fine. There is a small caveat though. The monitor connected with DisplayLink has a very small input lag, but for light work it works just fine. I would not tolerate it for a main monitor (some people would I guess), but it defintely is much better than not having a monitor.
      - Forgeties79 5y ago
        What adaptors/dongles are you using? I could really use a solution that keeps at least one monitor 120hz
        jq-r 5y ago
        The hub is a Ugreen branded one with two USB type C connectors which you can plug directly to your laptop. It also has 2 HDMI, 1 USB type A connectors, USB type C power input, and SD+micro SD card reader. I don't advise plugging this hub directly to your laptop because it heats up and that heats up the laptop's battery which I'm sure doesn't like it. I just keep it on two short USB type C cables so the heat doesn't transfer to the laptop. I've been using it for two years like this. The DisplayLink compatible adapter is then connected to that hub via USB type A cable. It is made by Startech and has two DisplayPort connectors as outputs. I only use one out of those.
      - chrisfinazzo 5y ago
        You mentioned input lag - how noticeable is this effect and is it something you can "hide" by increasing the tracking speed or other settings? While it might be down to the mediocre Logitech gear he's using, one complaint I have gotten on occasion is how the cursor does not always keep up with his mouse inputs.
        jq-r 5y ago
- shadowfacts 5y ago
  Yes it was? It's literally on the tech specs page and was widely reported: > Video Support > 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 https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/
- minhazm 5y ago
  But the comment says "M1-based iMac". The M1 iMac was released 6 months after M1 was first released with the Mac Mini, Macbook Air/Pro. I can understand if you bought the original M1 Air/Pro and were surprised it doesn't support more than 1 external display since it was indeed surprising behavior. But 6 months after the release of the chip is plenty of time to be informed on what you're buying.
- threeseed 5y ago
  > It didn’t become widely known until after the M1s had shipped This is nonsense. For every product Apple sells they list the technical specs on the website at the same time it is on sale. And it clearly states for the iMac that it supports a single display.
  - Forgeties79 5y ago
    I get what you are saying, but most people don’t question if a computer can support 2 external monitors in 2021/2022, so it’s very unlikely they would glance at that in the specs. Hell my 2016 MBPro can push at least 4 external monitors. Maybe more I honestly don’t know, it’s not like I ever needed that information. It’s like a more extreme version of buying a phone and finding out it doesn’t come with a charger. Sure, it’s probably somewhere on the box, but who wouldn’t be surprised?
    - ChuckNorris89 5y ago
      >but most people don’t question if a computer can support 2 external monitors in 2021/2022 And yet Apple has shipped just that. Apple is notorious for removing features that have been standard for years so they can sell you the "solution" at an extra cost (a.k.a the Apple tax), so, if you just impulsively buy the latest 'shiny' without reeding the spec sheet, then sorry, but that's 100% on you. It's the basics of leveraging market segmentation, a tactic which Apple is perfect at. They determined that whoever buys a MacBook Air probably has no need for more than one external monitor, so they removed that feature that was a given on Intel based systems to save cost, and assumed that people who run multi monitor setups are more likely to be businesses and professionals who can pony up the extra cash for a more expensive M1 Pro/Max model. It's how Apple, and others, squeezes more money out of their customer base, and now with their own silicon, they can now charge you extra for what was standard on basic Intel chips 8 years ago. Enjoy ;) I also don't like this practice, which is why I don't own any Apple HW, but I can't blame Apple here when it's their customer base at fault for buying their products without reading the spec sheet where Apple was transparent about the limitations of the basic M1 chip.
      - 5y ago
- jsjohnst 5y ago
  > 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 Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20201110215047/https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ https://web.archive.org/web/20201110215047/https://www.apple... Literally stated on the tech specs day of launch. Yes, Apple historically under promises[0] and over delivers, but in this case they stated exactly what it supported. [0] Apple has never claimed support for more than 3x monitors to my knowledge on a laptop, but using an Intel MBP I was able to drive nine, all GPU backed without using Displaylink.
  - Forgeties79 5y ago
    I've got to ask: What on earth did you need 9 monitors for!?
    - jsjohnst 5y ago
      Was just testing what was possible, didn’t actually use it in normal daily use.
smoldesu 5y ago
Presumably because similarly priced Intel Macs could connect to 2 or 3 displays with it's pathetically underpowered iGPU?
MisterSandman 5y ago
Not really, every single Mac Mini I can think of in the past decade has been able too support more than one display. Honestly, it's the kind of thing I just assume an expensive machine (yes $700 is expensive) would support.
- Forgeties79 5y ago
  Yeah I don’t get how so many people are going “you should’ve read the specs!” Who confirms features that virtually everyone computer has had for a decade?

ecshafer 5y ago

Why can't you? I am typing this from an M1-MPB with two monitors. I just have 1 through thunderbolt and 1 through the hdmi.

goosedragons 5y ago
You clearly have an M1 Pro or M1 Max MPB since you have an HDMI port. The base M1 models support the built-in display and 1 external display except the M1 Mini that's allowed 1 monitor over HDMI and 1 external display over TB. The Pro, Max and Ultra M1 models allow more displays.
the_svd_doctor 5y ago
I have a "MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)" and I clearly can't have 2 external monitors. I tried everything.
- js2 5y ago
  That model has built-in support for a single external display in addition to the built-in display. If you want a second external display, you have to use third-party DisplayLink technology, which may be good enough depending upon your use case, but is inferior to built-in support.
  - JohnBooty 5y ago
    Parent poster could also connect additional displays: - via Sidecar on an iPad - via Airplay on a display of their choosing Just mentioning workarounds, not excusing things.
- aenis 5y ago
  I had a m1 mbp and have used three external monitors from day one. Used a startech 3x4k hub for that. It uses display link - which is sw-based rendering. Worked like a charm for dev work. You likely couldnt tell that from directly connected monitors unless you wanted to push rapidly changing content (like scrolling through logs at 60 screen-heights per second) - then compression would be indeed visible. For work, videos and occasional session of gzdoom it was a-ok.

JohnBooty 5y ago

I'm an absolute fiend for screen real estate, and I'm not excusing this. It's a reason I didn't jump onto the M1 bandwagon myself when the first models came out. But I don't see it as nearly reaching the level of being a "fucking travesty", in an era of affordable giant 4K monitors. At any rate, I'm certainly glad newer models fix this.

ramijames 5y ago
The core reason is that I want both an extra screen AND to be able to draw on my Cintiq drawing screen. On an iMac, I can't. It's stupid.