A family member just purchased a M4 MBP. She’ll be using it primarily for writing and basic photo editing. She would like to connect two external monitors and with no knowledge of what we should be looking for to suit her needs I’m looking for some advice/suggestions. The current price tops off at $200 each ( not including cable and port if needed).
Thank you.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
If the total budget for displays is $400 USD, that's probably enough to buy
By "decent" I mean a display that has an IPS panel, and 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB. These features are hard to find in the cheapest 24" displays. They often have TN panels, and their specifications usually omit mention of sRGB coverage (generally a bad sign).
If you are into advanced color matching, then you start looking for good coverage of a wide color gamut (DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB) in addition to good coverage of sRGB. But that tends to drive the price beyond the range that you have in mind.
If the total budget for displays is $400 USD, that's probably enough to buy
By "decent" I mean a display that has an IPS panel, and 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB. These features are hard to find in the cheapest 24" displays. They often have TN panels, and their specifications usually omit mention of sRGB coverage (generally a bad sign).
If you are into advanced color matching, then you start looking for good coverage of a wide color gamut (DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB) in addition to good coverage of sRGB. But that tends to drive the price beyond the range that you have in mind.
Most modern monitors do not require, or support Thunderbolt. They take video signals over one or more of the following interfaces:
The USB-C ports on a M4 MacBook Pro support USB-C connections directly – and there are plenty of third-party adapters and adapter cables to go from USB-C to DisplayPort, HDMI, or just about anything else you might need. There is also a HDMI port on the M4 MacBook Pro for HDMI to HDMI connections.
Thunderbolt comes in when you want to
Macs do not support DisplayPort MST daisy-chaining, or connecting more than one monitor to a plain USB-C dock.
As long as color matching is not of concern, Acer, HP, Dell, NEC, Sony, LG and Viewsonic are all good brands.
It would be good to ensure not only the monitor supports Thunderbolt, but also HDMI. Apparently many monitors with thunderbolt support don't support the most modern version that is on Apple's latest machines. HDMI though is much more widely supported.
Most all of the new displays will work with the MacBook Pro M4.
have a look at > Use an external display with your MacBook Pro - Apple Support
In that price range, she should be able purchase a couple of HDMI equipped displays.
Steven T wrote:
the connection has been my stumbling block so far.
High end Thunderbolt equipped displays are very expensive.
In the $200 per display price range, you get HDMI equipped displays.
Yes, the connection has been my stumbling block so far.
Thank you,
Thunderbolt is a more advanced USB-C with additional connection capabilities and bandwidth.
Best external monitors for my MacBook Pro M4
