Connecting MacBook Pro 15 2018 to a 2012 monitor via USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) - HDMI cable without an adapter

Yes, you can use a direct USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) to HDMI cable with your 2018 MacBook Pro to connect to your 2012 monitor — no separate adapter should be required. The Mac’s Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports support native DisplayPort video output, and with the right USB-C to HDMI cable, that video signal is converted to HDMI for your monitor.

That said, the key is making sure you get a good quality USB-C to HDMI cable that specifically supports video output. Cheaper or poorly labeled ones may only support data transfer or charging, and not video. For a 2012 HDMI monitor, it’s most likely HDMI 1.4, which will handle up to 1080p or 1440p smoothly, and possibly 4K at 30Hz (depending on the monitor). Your MacBook Pro is fully capable of driving higher resolutions, but the cable and monitor will define the max refresh rate.

Here are a few cables I suggest that you consider:

Perfect — here are a couple of solid options that I’ve seen consistently work well with MacBook Pros:

• Anker USB-C to HDMI Cable (4K @ 60Hz)
• Cable Matters USB-C to HDMI Cable (4K @ 60Hz)
• Belkin USB-C to HDMI Cable (4K @ 60Hz)

Most, if not all of these can be purchased from places like Amazon.

Your 2018 MacBook Pro ports output DisplayPort video over USB-C (Thunderbolt 3). That’s the native signal. To get HDMI, you always need some form of conversion — but that conversion can happen either in a small adapter/dongle or inside a USB-C to HDMI cable. So when I said “no adapter required,” what I really meant was that you don’t need a separate adapter if you buy a proper USB-C to HDMI cable, because the conversion circuitry is built into the cable itself. Technically, the MacBook never outputs HDMI directly; it’s always DisplayPort being converted to HDMI downstream.

As I mentioned before, the key is making sure the cable you buy explicitly supports video (some cheaper USB-C cables don’t). Do you want me to recommend some reliable USB-C to HDMI cables that work well with the 2018 MacBook Pro and support 4K @ 60Hz?

constantin245 wrote:

If there is an adapter in the cable, then it is no longer just a cable, but a cable that has an adapter.

Thus, you cannot use a cable between USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) and HDMI in this MacBook model.

There once was an attempt by the HDMI standards body to define a HDMI Alt Mode for USB-C (HDMI Licensing Administrator – HDMI Alt Mode USB Type-C). My understanding is that they were "a day late and a dollar short" (ArsTechnica – RIP HDMI Alt Mode, we hardly knew ye ("After failing to release any cables or adapters, HDMI Alt Mode is dead.")).

So now, to get hardware-supported video out of a USB-C port, you're always talking about starting with

• DisplayPort Alt Mode, or
• DisplayPort signals encapsulated within a Thunderbolt signal

and then doing a conversion, if needed, from there. DisplayPort Alt Mode supports HDMI better than the defunct HDMI Alt Mode (which was never defined for anything higher than HDMI 1.4b) would have supported HDMI.

That's true whether you're talking about a USB-C port on the 2018 MacBook Pro, on the latest MacBook Pros, or on a notebook that has an Intel CPU and that is running Windows.

Supported video capability isn't listed in the Charging and Expansion section of the specs page.

It's in the Video Support section.

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

❝ Video Support

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

• Up to two displays with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
• Up to four displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

• Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
• VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately) ❞

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Re: “I have been shamefully accused and criticized for misunderstanding the concept and vision of my proposal regarding a new mobile operating system …”

What does any of your post have to do with the subject of this thread?