Hi. I hope someone can help. I'm interested in purchasing a screen extender for my MacBook 16 inch, M3 Pro. Can anyone tell me if they've found anything compatible? Thanx.
[Re-Titled By Moderator]
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.5
When you say "screen extender", what do you mean?
You're in luck either way. Your 16" M3 Pro MacBook Pro can support up to two external displays – and there are a very wide range of ways in which you can attach them.
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support
When you say "screen extender", what do you mean?
You're in luck either way. Your 16" M3 Pro MacBook Pro can support up to two external displays – and there are a very wide range of ways in which you can attach them.
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support
The Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, makes them suitable for full-motion video for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues. This requires a hardware rasterizer/display-generator for each fully-accelerated display, supported by Huge memory bandwidth to refresh each display many times a second.
No amount of added hardware can allow you to squeeze a real display out if thin air.
The Mac supports up to TWO displays on one connector out of the Mac when the Port, the cable, and the first device (Dock or Display) are all genuine ThunderBolt, and not otherwise. Triple and double USB adapters from Windows are NOT supported on a Mac.
If you are doing ONLY program listings, spreadsheets, stock quotes and other slow to change data, there are some other solutions, but they require you to make some strong compromises.
Display interfaces are generated deep inside the system on a chip. Each display requires a Huge amount of memory bandwidth to be supported without dropouts. How many there are depends on the exact type of Processor:
M3 (plain) like the 13-in and 15-in supports up to ONE External fully hardware-accelerated external display. Except the M3 MacBook Air models with 13 or 15-in display, which can support a second external display instead of the built-in display when you close the cover on the built-in display.
M3 PRO processor supports up to Two fully hardware-accelerated external displays.
M3 MAX processor supports up to Four fully hardware-accelerated external displays.
I would suggest going with an extender where each of the screens has its own video connection.
An extender that "works" with just one video connection would be one that either
Your Mac can drive two screens, so why not take advantage of that, and skip any complications and drawbacks that might come with using a "workaround"?
Another way to add a screen to a MacBook Pro "on the go" would be Sidecar. This lets you use a compatible iPad as a second screen for a Mac. The connection would not be as good as a hardware one – but an iPad would have a better screen than most portable monitors that you can find.
Use an iPad as a second display for a Mac - Apple Support
Continuity features and requirements on Apple devices - Apple Support
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? all the hardware to support up to two additional "real" displays is already built into your MacBook Pro with PRO processor. Just connect a cable and it works.
You have a Very capable computer. Nothing additional is needed.
You can test by using a HDMI cable to connect your TV set directly.
Here's an example of "add a portable screen on each side" extender.
I haven't checked it carefully for compatibility with your Mac, and I'm not making any recommendation for or against it. I'm just using it as an illustration of how you might connect such a device.
This device adds a 12", 1920x1080 screen to the left side of your laptop, and another 12", 1920x1080 screen to the right side of your laptop.
"Each screen is equipped with 2 Type-C (Display and Power Delivery 2 in 1), 1 HDMI, 1 USB 2.0 and each screen work independently."
I don't know if your MacBook Pro would supply Power Delivery power to these screens. If it did, you could just connect the screens using two USB-C to USB-C cables. If it didn't, you could use those cables for connecting video, but you'd also need a couple of USB-C power bricks and charging cables to give each of the screens its own power supply.
Ellafromdavie wrote:
All the ones I've looked at, like the link you sent, have drivers that need to be installed in order to work with my laptop. That's what had me asking the community if there was another way.
I don't think that particular one required installation of drivers. Looked to me like it required connection of two video cables – that it, it was depending on a laptop's hardware video support.
There are probably others that do not require special drivers. As well as others that do.
the ability to use multiple displays as if they were one Extended Desktop has been built into MacOS since at least 1987, when the the Mac-II allowed you to add a second display card in a separate slot.
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Hey. So, yes. I was interested in one of those things you attach to your laptop so you can view specific things on each screen. Your laptop, and the two attached monitors displaying their own individual content. None is video. Just paper.
This is exactly what I was asking about. I shopped, but as usual, I always want whatever I buy that connects to an Apple product, to come from Apple. Not 3rd party. And since that's not something I can get from Apple, I'm trying to do the next best thing.
Thank you. It will be for spreadsheet type work. Do you know of a specific extender that would be suitable?
I understand. Thank you for your help.
I tried Sidecar. My iPad is the really really big and heavy one. Too much for what I need.
All the ones I've looked at, like the link you sent, have drivers that need to be installed in order to work with my laptop. That's what had me asking the community if there was another way.
Compatible screen extender for my MacBook Pro M3
