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What size external monitor can a 13 inch M2 Macbook Air drive?

I want to purchase a wide, or even ultra-wide monitor and have the following Mac's

  1. 2010 iMac
  2. 13" M2 Macbook Air


I'm guessing, if any has a chance of driving a wide screen-monitor the M2 is most likely, but I do not know what the maximum size it will drive.

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 7:47 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 7:59 AM

Karlos1001 wrote:

I want to purchase a wide, or even ultra-wide monitor and have the following Mac's1.
2010 iMac
2. 13" M2 Macbook Air

I'm guessing, if any has a chance of driving a wide screen-monitor the M2 is most likely, but I do not know what the maximum size it will drive.

Here are the specifications for the 13" MacBook Air M2: MacBook Air 13- and 15-inch with M2 - Tech Specs - Apple

"Display Support

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

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C

VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)"


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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 10, 2023 7:59 AM in response to Karlos1001

Karlos1001 wrote:

I want to purchase a wide, or even ultra-wide monitor and have the following Mac's1.
2010 iMac
2. 13" M2 Macbook Air

I'm guessing, if any has a chance of driving a wide screen-monitor the M2 is most likely, but I do not know what the maximum size it will drive.

Here are the specifications for the 13" MacBook Air M2: MacBook Air 13- and 15-inch with M2 - Tech Specs - Apple

"Display Support

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

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C

VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)"


Sep 10, 2023 8:30 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Hi Bob.

Thanks for the prompt reply, but what does that mean to the layman?


When I'm 'monitor shopping' I'm looking at screen-sizes, none of those specs tell me if it will drive a 34, 42 or even a curved ultra-wide 49 inch monitor. I read comments where people have purchased wide/ultra-wide screens for their 13" M2 MBA's... only to be confronted with a blank and then it gets technical.


The geeks [no offence intended] speak of billions of colours, 4K, 6k etc... while the regular Mac user screen-sizes, and rarely do the twain meet.


Any guidance would be appreciated.

Sep 10, 2023 12:48 PM in response to Karlos1001

A M2 MacBook Air will drive a single monitor, and as long as you stick to common resolutions such as 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, there's no problem. The M2 MacBook Air will even drive a 5K monitor or 6K monitor over Thunderbolt. Note that with an ultra-wide monitor (e.g., 3840x1080 or 5120x1440 pixels), there might be some risk of not being able to select the proper resolution for the "oddball" monitor, even though the M2 hardware will happily drive other monitors with more demanding (but more common) resolutions.


A 2010 iMac can drive a display with a resolution of up to 2560x1600 pixels. If you get a 4K monitor, that monitor might not work with the 2010 iMac. (The only way it could, would be if the monitor told the computer that it could accept a lower-resolution signal like 2560x1440 or 1920x1080, and the computer took it up on the offer.)


I don't think the 2010 iMac will work with an ultra-wide monitor.

What size external monitor can a 13 inch M2 Macbook Air drive?

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