5 ms·

How many external screens?

terramex 4y ago
> Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: > One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/ https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/
- CoastalCoder 4y ago
  Thanks for that link. For my next work laptop, I've been waiting to see if (sometime soon) there would be a MBP that supported external refresh rates > 60 Hz. Given that the M2 MBA still has that limitation, I suspect not.
  - cloudengineer94 4y ago
    Main reason I went from the 16" Intel to the M1 Pro, dual displays is a must for me when I'm docked at home.
  - synaesthesisx 4y ago
    I can run my Samsung CRG9 (a 49” UW monitor) with one of my M1 machines (an original 13” Pro w/ M1) at 120hz with no issues, FWIW. I suspect it would probably have issues running 4K @120hz however.
    - CoastalCoder 4y ago
      Thanks, that's an interesting data point. Back when I had my M1 MBP, I never managed to get above 60Hz, and I found some articles suggesting that nobody could. I'm curious why you had more success.
      - synaesthesisx 4y ago
        In my case, I had to get a new DisplayPort cable (not all cables will support 120hz). Things were rocky at the start but I believe Apple also released an update to improve compatibility.
    - filoleg 4y ago
      Regular 4k@120hz is totally doable on M1 Max MBP, can confirm that myself. Hard to answer the question regarding 4k+ ultrawides @120hz though, primarily because i dont think there is a display like that in existence yet (googling didn't net much success there for me). The only ultrawide 4k+ display i found that is above 60hz is the LG 5k ultrawide with thunderbolt 4 support, and it maxes out at 70hz (and M1 Max MBP supports it at that refresh rate just fine, that's my current setup).
      - fomine3 4y ago
        IIRC M1 don't support DisplayPort DSC that is needed to handle 4K+ AND 120HZ+. I wish M2 supports DSC to handle this.
agloeregrets 4y ago
Literally my only question. If they don't understand that then this is a massive market-research fail. I went Windows before the M1 Pro Macs just because I could not run two displays well on the Air (Displaylink sucks so so much).
- mrtranscendence 4y ago
  On the contrary, I suspect they have market research to the effect that only a small proportion of users have or want multiple screens, and of those who do, they're likely to buy a more expensive model in the first place. Basically everyone I know has gone the route of a single large display, Mac user or not.
  - copperx 4y ago
    > Basically everyone I know has gone the route of a single large display, Mac user or not. I've noticed that, too, which I don't quite understand. Dual displays were touted as a productivity multiplier back in the day. Is that not the case anymore?
    - jbverschoor 4y ago
      Still the case.. People aren't productive.. haven't you noticed? It's not just notifications of the phone. Having to switch between the huge amount of apps and windows is bad even on more screens, let alone on a single screen.
      - mrtranscendence 4y ago
        Meh. I'm more productive when one thing has focus, so I prefer not having multiple applications open at once vying for my attention. One display works great for me ... I'd even shut my laptop screen if I could, but I use touch ID for authentication. Maybe it's a failure of imagination on my part, but I've never been in a position where I thought that having more screen real estate than a large 4k display would be helpful. When I need to have more than one application visible I can do that; when I want to focus on one thing at a time I can do that too.
tailspin2019 4y ago
Looks like just one. This is the wording on the marketing page: > "You can also connect up to a 6K display."

> Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: > One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/ https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/

CoastalCoder 4y ago
Thanks for that link. For my next work laptop, I've been waiting to see if (sometime soon) there would be a MBP that supported external refresh rates > 60 Hz. Given that the M2 MBA still has that limitation, I suspect not.
- cloudengineer94 4y ago
  Main reason I went from the 16" Intel to the M1 Pro, dual displays is a must for me when I'm docked at home.
- synaesthesisx 4y ago
  I can run my Samsung CRG9 (a 49” UW monitor) with one of my M1 machines (an original 13” Pro w/ M1) at 120hz with no issues, FWIW. I suspect it would probably have issues running 4K @120hz however.
  - CoastalCoder 4y ago
    Thanks, that's an interesting data point. Back when I had my M1 MBP, I never managed to get above 60Hz, and I found some articles suggesting that nobody could. I'm curious why you had more success.
    - synaesthesisx 4y ago
      In my case, I had to get a new DisplayPort cable (not all cables will support 120hz). Things were rocky at the start but I believe Apple also released an update to improve compatibility.
  - filoleg 4y ago
    Regular 4k@120hz is totally doable on M1 Max MBP, can confirm that myself. Hard to answer the question regarding 4k+ ultrawides @120hz though, primarily because i dont think there is a display like that in existence yet (googling didn't net much success there for me). The only ultrawide 4k+ display i found that is above 60hz is the LG 5k ultrawide with thunderbolt 4 support, and it maxes out at 70hz (and M1 Max MBP supports it at that refresh rate just fine, that's my current setup).
    - fomine3 4y ago
      IIRC M1 don't support DisplayPort DSC that is needed to handle 4K+ AND 120HZ+. I wish M2 supports DSC to handle this.

agloeregrets 4y ago

Literally my only question. If they don't understand that then this is a massive market-research fail. I went Windows before the M1 Pro Macs just because I could not run two displays well on the Air (Displaylink sucks so so much).

mrtranscendence 4y ago
On the contrary, I suspect they have market research to the effect that only a small proportion of users have or want multiple screens, and of those who do, they're likely to buy a more expensive model in the first place. Basically everyone I know has gone the route of a single large display, Mac user or not.
- copperx 4y ago
  > Basically everyone I know has gone the route of a single large display, Mac user or not. I've noticed that, too, which I don't quite understand. Dual displays were touted as a productivity multiplier back in the day. Is that not the case anymore?
  - jbverschoor 4y ago
    Still the case.. People aren't productive.. haven't you noticed? It's not just notifications of the phone. Having to switch between the huge amount of apps and windows is bad even on more screens, let alone on a single screen.
    - mrtranscendence 4y ago
      Meh. I'm more productive when one thing has focus, so I prefer not having multiple applications open at once vying for my attention. One display works great for me ... I'd even shut my laptop screen if I could, but I use touch ID for authentication. Maybe it's a failure of imagination on my part, but I've never been in a position where I thought that having more screen real estate than a large 4k display would be helpful. When I need to have more than one application visible I can do that; when I want to focus on one thing at a time I can do that too.

tailspin2019 4y ago

Looks like just one. This is the wording on the marketing page: > "You can also connect up to a 6K display."