Does Dell U2724DE support MacBook Air 2017?

MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

Your 2017 MacBook Air has Thunderbolt 2 ports with the old-style Mini DisplayPort connector. It supports a single external monitor with resolution of up to 3840x2160 pixels at a refresh rate of 60 Hz.

Dell – Dell UltraSharp 27 Thunderbolt™ Hub Monitor - U2724DE

This is a 27", 2560x1440 pixel monitor with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It has DisplayPort, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 4 inputs. It has several hub ports: USB-A (up to 10 Gbps), USB-C (up to 10 Gbps), and Ethernet (2.5 Gbps). The Dell U2724DE User's Guide indicates that the monitor can run at a 2560 x 1440 at 60 Hz setting.

I believe that you could connect this monitor to your MacBook Air – but not in a way that would let you use all of the monitor's features.

Preferred Method

Use a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable to connect your Mac's Thunderbolt 2 port (which can double as a Mini DisplayPort) to the U2724DE's DIsplayPort(in) port (shown as port 4 in the monitor's user manual). If you want to use the hub ports on the monitor, run a USB-A to USB-C cable that's rated for USB 3.0 speed or better from your MacBook Air to the U2724DE's USB-C upstream port (shown as port 8 in the monitor's user manual.). The USB-A ports on your MacBook Air are USB 3.0 ports with a maximum speed of 5 Gbps, so that's the total bandwidth that would be available at any one time to the hub ports on the monitor.

Alternate Method (Not Recommended)

Buy an Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapter ($50) and a Thunderbolt 1/2 cable ($30+). Use this cable and adapter to make a connection between your Mac's Thunderbolt 2 port and the monitor's Thunderbolt 4 upstream port (shown as port 7 in the monitor's user manual.). (I think this would work, but make no guarantees.)

Neither method will allow you to power or charge your MacBook Air from the monitor. DisplayPort isn't designed to carry power, and the Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapter does not carry power from one side to the other (just data).

Either way, you might find that the Mac wants to run the monitor using a 60 Hz refresh rate, not a 120 Hz one.

GlitchDetected Said:

"U2724DE for 2017 macbook air?: Does the Dell U2724DE support my 2017 macbook air?"

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U2724DE for 2017 MacBook Air:

It Appears Not. With the proper ports , hardware, and resolution, it would be expected to work. But, Thunderbolt 4 is not a feature of your Mac. If it was to work, this is a cable to use: Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) Pro Cable (1.8 m) and this resolution: 2560X1440.

1. Go Here: Using a Dell UltraSharp USB-C Monitor with a Mac - Dell Help
2. Screenshot:

GlitchDetected wrote:

is u2723qe a better alternative?

Dell – Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor - U2723QE

This one has 3840x2160 pixel resolution at 60 Hz. It has DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C (DisplayPort) input ports. Your Mac doesn't have USB-C, and I doubt if you could use a USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter in reverse.

So here we would also be talking about

• A Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable to connect the video
• A USB-A to USB-C cable to connect hub ports (if desired)
• Not being able to use the monitor to charge or power the notebook (because your Mac doesn't have USB-C and thus has no good way to receive power via USB-C Power Delivery)

There's also the question of how well your 2017 MacBook Air – one of the first MacBook Airs that could drive UHD 4K displays – would handle Retina scaling.

I would expect to offer

• "like 1920x1080" (implies a 4K drawing canvas)
• Non-Retina 3840x2160 (which would be like having a 2x2 stack of 13.5" 1920x1080 monitors – you'd have tons of workspace, but text would be really small)

but am not sure whether it would offer

• "like 2560x1440" (implies a 5K drawing canvas)
• "like 3008x1692" (implies a 6K drawing canvas)

or what performance would be like if it did.

GlitchDetected Said:

"it supports my 2017 macbook air right?"

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No. Not out-of-the-box. You'll need an adapter, like this one. USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter As for playing downloaded 4K HDR videos on the TV app, it will just not play on this screen, and you'll get the following error message:

GlitchDetected Said:

"U2724DE for 2017 macbook air?: is u2723qe a better alternative?”

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Yes, as it has 4K. According to the same site, most of these are plug & play when I comes to Mac, but you just need the correct cables and ports to get it going. USB-C is built in, so you’ll need the cable I mentioned.