When will I be able to connect multiple external monitors to my MacBook Air M1?

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Level 1

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When will I be able to connect multiple external monitors to my MacBook Air M1?

I recently purchased a MacBook Air M1 in July of 2021, and was very surprised to find out that I can't connect via my USB-C dock to more than one (I'm only trying to use two) external monitors at one point. I have a set up that I use for working from home with a different brand of device for work, and wanted to use the same set up with my MacBook - hence upgrading from a legacy HP laptop to the MacBook - but as of now, it appears I can only connect one external monitor. I did also try buying a USB-C adapter for the second monitor, and connecting that separately to the other USB-C port, but that didn't work either. Does anyone know a way around this, or when we can expect an update for the M1 chips to have this facility, seems a bit strange that it only affects the M1 chip MacBooks, and considering they are almost £1,000, I would've thought something simple like this would have been standard.

Posted on Oct 13, 2021 7:33 AM

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Answer 1

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BobTheFisherman

Level 10

81,433 points

Oct 13, 2021 7:45 AM in response to mjf94

The M1 specifications clearly state that only one external display is supported. If you need multiple external displays you will need to buy a computer that supports multiple external displays. Why would this be a "surprise" to you?

From: MacBook Air - Technical Specifications - Apple

"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"

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Answer 2

Oct 13, 2021 8:39 AM in response to mjf94

mjf94 wrote:

Thanks, I understand now after researching in detail that it is not a feature, so I don’t need that pointing out to me - my question is actually regarding if and when this feature will be added, as I read that it was an expected update.

This is a user-to-user forum. No one here is privy to Apple's future plans. You can let Apple know how important this feature is to you here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 3

mjf94 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 13, 2021 8:35 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Thanks, I understand now after researching in detail that it is not a feature, so I don’t need that pointing out to me - my question is actually regarding if and when this feature will be added, as I read that it was an expected update.

Side note, I would be ‘surprised’ because I have had dual monitor set-ups for the last 10 years at work, with Macs previous, Lenovo and HP laptops worth a third of the price - this is the kind of feature that I would expect as standard on any device, let alone one from Apple, at such a price point. But yes, if not fixed, I’ll be selling the Mac and going back to Windows - hence the question, to see if I have to go through with selling it and moving to Windows for something that I would expect as standard.

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Answer 4

Oct 13, 2021 8:40 AM in response to mjf94

We do not know nor can we discuss Apple's future products or plans. I doubt very much if the M1 will ever support multiple displays. Maybe future Apple Silicon based products will.

Nothing wrong with Windows PCs. I'm posting from one right now. But even with my Windows PCs I would not expect multiple display support as "standard". I would check the specs before making my next purchase.

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When will I be able to connect multiple external monitors to my MacBook Air M1?

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