thunderbolt dock with display link that can accommodate apple thunderbolt display and an additional screen using MacBook Air m2

I haven't ever seen a Thunderbolt dock with DisplayLink support. As far as I know, it's not impossible to build one. It's just that no vendors have (to the best of my knowledge). They build docks that rely upon the host computer's first-class hardware display support. In the case of a M2 MacBook Air, that would mean a limit of one monitor (the Thunderbolt monitor you have now.)

You could presumably plug a DisplayLink adapter into a downstream port on a Thunderbolt dock. Then whatever new monitor you got would get the second-class connection.

The second monitor could not be another Thunderbolt monitor. That monitor requires Thunderbolt input, and no DisplayLink adapter on the market is capable of generating that.

ahmedfromfrederick wrote:

the downside is that Sonoma prevents video playback because it recognizes display link as a screen sharing device and hence it stops video playback on both screens. I do hope apple either removes this restriction OR provides a mabook air that can power 2 screens. I hope the M3 will have that. my local workload on the laptop is minimal since all the coding I do is hosted in an analytics platform i.e. browser based development or a hosted development container in the cloud hence I don't need local horsepower on my laptop. If I invest in a mabook pro series I would not be utilizing its processing capabilities.

Apple has already released two Macs that use the 'base' M3 chip. They're the 24" M3 iMac, and the entry-level version of the 14" MacBook Pro. Both have a limit of one external display. I think that it's pretty safe to say that when/if Apple releases M3 MacBook Airs, those Macs will also have a limit of one external display.

ahmedfromfrederick wrote:

oh, I didnt know that the MacBook Pro M3 has a limit of 1 screen, I'm glad you mentioned it here.

The 14" M3 MBP is a successor to the 13" M2 MBP. It gained some features from the Pro/Max models (mini-LED backlit screen, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 charging port). (The M2 MacBook Airs had the MagSafe 3 port, but Apple didn't see fit to let the 13" M2 MBP have it.). Some, but not all.

If you look at display support for the current 14" MBPs,

• The M3 model supports one external display.
• The M3 Pro model supports up to two external displays.
• The M3 Max model supports up to four external displays.
• The M3 Pro and Max models can drive 8K displays, but this reduces the total number of displays you can have.

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro or M3 Max, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications

MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications

Macbook Air M2 supports two screens maximum so it will not meet your goal of three monitors.

However, I am not using any dock with it.

I am using an older Belkin docking station with a Mac Studio M1 with a USBC to Thunderbolt2 adapter in order to support two monitors. But I could easily add another to the Mac Studio. My MacStuido has 32GB of Ram and 2TB of storage which works well.

The M3 is likely a better processor with lower power given the smaller transistor geometries, but there are limits to graphics controller capability as noted below.

There are no fans in these MacBook Airs M2, given you are likely to be doing significant computing as a programmer, heat could be an issue.

ahmedfromfrederick wrote:

as a programmer my optimal setup is 3 screens. a 27 inch in the middle and 2 vertical screens on the sides. if I wanna power that through M3 Max this can become very expensive very quickly.

I don't do graphics or video, I just edit code and observe statistical plots on the screens. sometimes have a video playing on one of them.

so paying for the Max has little R.O.I. for my use case since I deal with text (programming code) mostly. execution of the code is in the cloud :) so the laptop is mostly a thin client.

A senior software engineer's salary might run roughly $150,000+ USD per year – $3,000+ USD per week. If your company isn't providing you with the right equipment to get your work done, it's not going to take all that long before reduced productivity costs them more in salary and time-to-market delays than the bean counters "saved" by going with the cheapest equipment.

If you absolutely need to have three monitors, then choosing a 14" M3 MacBook Pro over a 14" M3 Max MacBook Pro, a M2 Pro Mac mini, or a M2 Max Mac Studio, might be an example of being penny wise and pound foolish.

Then again, I used to work at a place that was full of top-notch software and hardware engineers. Some got a single 24" screen. Some got two 24" screens. There were such things as 27" iMacs and 27" standalone displays, but I don't recall seeing those in Engineering offices or cubicles.

ahmedfromfrederick wrote:

A week ago I got the M3 MacBook Air and I absolutely love it, now I can use 2 external displays.

From the Technical Specifications for the M3 MacBook Airs:

----------

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
• Close the MacBook Air lid to use a second external display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz

----------

So they're a bit more flexible than the M1 and M2 MacBook Airs. But they can't drive "3 screens" (i.e., open lid + two external displays).

Lukcresdera wrote:

Macbook Air M2 supports two screens maximum

Including the internal screen. Those machines only support one external monitor.