does the new macbook air 15 support 2 external monitors

Servant of Cats Said:

“[…]It's a cute trick, but it's not the same thing as making the M1 or M2 drive an extra monitor directly.[…]”

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Use it without Reluctance:

Cute or not, try this yourself, and you’ll love it. There’s nothing of a driver installed. It’s just play-and-play.

Because people have shown it’s possible with the extra overhead of third party drivers. Both the usb-c/lightning ports are capable of the data throughput.

You are arguing against people who have done it against the OS specification.

People come here to ask if you can have two external displays the answer is “No unless you buy 3rd party kit then it works fine” you and others then seem keen on saying it’s somehow worse which other people say it isn’t.

My addendum is Apple could support this natively if it can be supported via emulation. If there is a processor limitation on the M series then they can limit the total output resolution but given it can drive 4k then it can drive two 1080p for sure.

At the very least it would be great if one external could mirror the built in and the other act in extended. If the M series can’t support this then they are not as good processors as Apple say! As it means they are outclassed by a lot of much cheaper chips in terms of video output! (For clarity they are good chips and can do it they don’t do it because of software choices therefore I assume this is a marketing decision.)

Thanks for your input good to know you are finding the 3rd party solution to work. If you have details of resolutions it can push it would be good to get an idea of the limitations (I assume it could do two 4k screens but for others this would help)

Yes, you can buy a much more expensive Mac that supports multiple external displays. Because that is the whole point of Apple preventing the use of multiple displays on the Air - to force you to buy a more expensive computer to get the functionality that almost all other modern computers support. It is simply a money grab and Apple has perfected it. Yes, I will head over to Product Feedback.

Slartibartfast_42 Said:

“Thanks for your input good to know you are finding the 3rd party solution to work. If you have details of resolutions it can push it would be good to get an idea of the limitations (I assume it could do two 4k screens but for others this would help)”

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You are welcome.

How I Use This:

I’ve only tried it on three 4 screens. My projector has 1080P and is of 4K. You need a 4K cable to make use of the 4K HDMI output. Attach the projector to this port through the 4K cable, and the projector has a video output port that is HDMI, and that even adds another screen: the fourth. That’s all I have for external screens.

There is nothing saying it is not capable. There are limits on its ability. That occurs due to numerous factors none of us probably know. It could be price points, sales of add-ons, etc. A business is a business, is a business. Because we want something to work that should work, does not mean it will work. A business is a big fat baby that is hungry all the times and will only eat money. Companies make money from each other. So, Apple's response is: if you want it to do that right now, make something and we will put it on the Apple Store as an accessory; otherwise, buy the products. That is just how business operates, whether the consumer loves it or not.

As an add on: I have never had problems running externals displays, 2 at a minimum from any computer from Apple with the exception of the MacBook Air. My minis, I run 2-4 external monitors. My MacBook pros external 2. All good quality monitors up to 4k. MacBook Air (newer version) 1 external with some possible workarounds. Easiest workaround is lower power lower quality monitors. Chain them together, nothing else needs x 2 external. Even a decent monitor kills the ability to use 2 external. So you are speaking low quality monitors that are good for doing paperwork and low quality images/video. It is possible. If you work in an office its good, work somewhere you need editing of pictures or videos, get rid of the air and get a pro.

I have the MBA M1 and I am able to connect two external displays and use the built-in as 3rd screen. The two externals are HP 27" and Samsung ultrawide 34".

I just purchased a 15" MBA and came here because it won't work with two external monitors! The second one is not connecting, but as soon as I unplug the first one, the second one is detected and connects.

This is disappointing!

The 2018-2020 Intel-based MacBook Airs could drive two external 4K displays, or one external 5K display.

As I recall, from looking at processor data sheets on Intel's site, a lot of Intel integrated GPUs supported three video outputs. The MacBook Air would have consumed one for its internal screen, leaving two. But neither of those two supported 5K displays, so I think the Mac had to use two iGPU outputs to drive one 5K display.

Thus the specifications where the number of external displays depended on the resolution of those displays.

I totally agree with TheLittles-I just upgraded to the MacBook Air 15” and using the same item he mentioned and it works like a charm. I still have the other USBC port available. I would say the investment was well with it. As I said in my previous comments it was cheaper to buy it online at Walmart and pick it up or have it delivered, then to bu it in the store. Hope this helps!!!

There is. Display link works. I'm typing this from one of my two EXTERNAL monitors from 2020 M1 13" macbook pro. The problem is, part of why I love Apple is native support of features. I hate using third party software to drive native hardware. It works ok, just isn't Apple's norm.

RE: There is no workaround. Using Docks does not increase the number of displays supported. From the Apple Documentation: "Docks don’t increase the number of displays you can connect."

There is. Display link works. I'm typing this from one of my two EXTERNAL monitors from 2020 M1 13" macbook pro. The problem is, part of why I love Apple is native support of features. I hate using third party software to drive native hardware. It works ok, just isn't Apple's norm.

My issue was Intel-based MBA supported two external displays. I bought two MBA M1's for my daughters and never connected them to more than 1 display. I just assumed it did.

I then bought an M2 15" MBA, and that's when I found out M1 and M2 MBA's do not natively support 2 displays. People had complained about this screw-up, I was just in the game.

I agree with you. Consumer level laptops had supported two displays for ages, and no one would think MBA M1's would drop that support. I'm very disappointed, but it is what it is.

DisplayLink does not give you extra first-class hardware video outputs.

A driver creates fake “virtual displays” on the Mac, and sends compressed updates tio those screens to external hardware with a DisplayLink chip set, which decides the updates to drive a monitor.

The refresh rates are not “guaranteed” by hardware the way they would be for real hardware video outputs.

I had no trouble using dual monitors on my previous MacMini M1, one connected through HDMI, one through one of the USB-C ports. Still working on figuring that out on my new MacBook Air 15 with the M2.

DisplayLink however works on another standard. It takes DisplayPort video-protocol and converts it into normal "data". The software used also have had about 20-60% use of the CPU. Not sure at all of the use for the 15".

DisplayLink is a ****** technology, but it and some few others like siliconmotion works. It is however a bad workaround.