How to set up three screens on MacBook Air with M3 Chip

I'm not aware of anything that will provide what you're looking for. The MacBook Air M3 specs are such that you can run the MacBook's display plus one external monitor, or two external monitors with the lid closed on the MacBook Air.

For Apple Silicon Macs, the processor chip makes a difference.

Technical Specifications for 14" MacBook Pros (the closest in size and weight to MacBook Airs):

M3

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

M3 Pro

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:

• • Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI
  • One external display supported at 8K resolution at 60Hz or one external display at 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI

M3 Max

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:

• • Up to four external displays: Up to three external displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI
  • Up to three external displays: Up to two external displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or one external display with 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI

If one screen is a smart TV or a new enough Mac you can get a bonus display via AirPlay.

There are also 3rd party USB 3.0 to HDMI/DisplayPort adapters which have MacOS drivers. (And some are windows only, so be careful which you buy).

Finally, you could get video wall controller which chops a single input into 2-4 extended display outputs (pure hardware solution, no driver installation required).

LWest75 wrote:

I am new to using a Mac and went with the newer MacBook Air with M3 chip, can I use two external monitors without being in clamshell mode (3 total screens)?

As far as I know, the base M3 chip supports a total of two first-class hardware-accelerated video outputs, just like the base M1 and M2 chips that preceded it. Including the output for the built-in display, which is why you can only have one external display when the lid is open.

This is more flexible than the arrangement on the M1 and M2 MacBook Airs – whose limit is one external display at all times, even when the lid is closed. Those notebooks don't have hardware and software to take resources meant for the built-in screen, and redirect them, when a closed lid lets them "cheat" on actually refreshing that screen.

There may well be a third party solution at some point, but the odds of it supporting full resolution and refresh rates on all three monitors are almost nil. And, for sure, the odds that Apple will make a change to support are equally bad.

But...it never hurts to check! Glad to have helped.

@LWest75 I too want to use both monitors and leave my macbook air m3 open to use as keyboard & mouse - do you have a recommendation for a mouse that works with your M3?