Multiple displays for Macbook Air M2

Staceylce wrote:

How to connect multiple displays for MacBook Air M2.

You don't.

MacBook Air with M2 chip - Tech Specs - Apple

"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"

I have a MacBook Air M2 which now can drive two legacy 27 ins Apple LED displays, you have to use a "Plugable USB-C Docking station", I picked the UD-6950Z model (about £130) and if you download "Displaylink" software drivers it enables the laptop screen plus the two Apple Displays to work as fully connected displays.

I would have bought a MacBook Pro if I had realised that without this work round the MacBook Air can only drive one external display.

I have the "triple display setup" running under Ventura 13.3.1 and it seems very stable, when booting only the laptop display functions, however, after signing in then the Displaylink software kicks in and all three monitors are functional - the mouse slides between all three smoothly, I am pleased with the outcome.

You can connect multiple external displays if you use a display link adapter. See some other threads here for people who have had success.

The M series chips are more than up the job of supporting multiple external displays but are limited by the OS. You can and should submit feedback to apple that this is a feature you would like to see supported in the future.

https://www.macworld.com/article/675869/how-to-connect-two-or-more-external-displays-to-apple-silicon-m1-macs.html

Slartibartfast_42 wrote:

You can connect multiple external displays if you use a display link adapter. See some other threads here for people who have had success.

The M series chips are more than up the job of supporting multiple external displays but are limited by the OS. You can and should submit feedback to apple that this is a feature you would like to see supported in the future.

https://www.macworld.com/article/675869/how-to-connect-two-or-more-external-displays-to-apple-silicon-m1-macs.html

Yes you can physically connect more than one external display. Doing so does not increase the capability of the computer hardware to drive the external displays at the performance level in the computer specifications. The performance will be lower than specified and may be unsatisfactory for video intensive tasks such as games. If your goal is to read an email on more than one display the dock may work for you but the displays will not perform as the computer specification states.

Slartibartfast_42 wrote:

If it can render a 6k output I’m sure it could do just fine with two 1080p or even two 4k.

The performance for a game on a 6k will be pretty poor but they don’t limit that!

Maybe an example from the non-computer world would help.

I buy a vehicle with the specification that it can tow a trailer up to 6000lbs. Someone comes up with a trailer adapter that allows me to connect another trailer to the back of my original trailer. This adapter creater says that my vehicle can tow two trailers because there is an adapter. Yes I can now connect two trailers but this does not change the specifications of my vehicle and the performance will be reduced. Maybe the adapter seller also says that I can add two more trailers. Technically he is correct. But performance will not be up to spec.

If I was a new computer user and someone told me Apple specs were wrong/or could be ignored and to use an adapter to increase the number of supported displays, I would be upset that I was conned into paying out a lot of money for devices that reduced performance.

looking at the dock I see display displayport output female plugs, how do you then use these to connect to the 27 in apple displays that use mini display male plugs? I dont see a any display port (male)to mini display port cable (female) cables online

If it can render a 6k output I’m sure it could do just fine with two 1080p or even two 4k.

The performance for a game on a 6k will be pretty poor but they don’t limit that!