How To Use iMac as Display w/ Retina MacBook

@jason269, the article you link to makes no mention whatsoever of the 12-inch MacBook (not the Pro) that the OP mentions. I'm finding it extremely difficult to find a clear answer to the simple question: *can* the non-Pro 12 inches screenshare via cable with *any* iMac? Apple has been suspiciously silent or vague on this question. as this article clearly shows, "Apple's thunderbolt display doesn't work with a 12-inch Macbook's UBS-C Port" (https://www.macworld.com/article/3200052/displays/apples-thunderbolt-display-doe snt-work-with-a-12-inch-macbooks-usb-c-p…).

could you therefore confirm whether the 12-inch (non-Pro) might be compatible with the 27" iMacs from late-2009 / 2010 that had Mini Displayport input capability? Can the 12-inch output a MDP signal via one of the various adaptors recently brought onto the market?

could you also give some explanation as to why Apple would make this product *not* backward-compatible with its own hardware as old as 2011 (Thunderbolt), and why people who purchased the 12-inch on the assumption that it would be able to do what their Macbooks from that year could do - i.e. output TB signal to another TB-enable Mac - shouldn't be demanding refunds or upgrades to the Pro (which, not surprisingly, has this very basic capability via a cleverly reworked USB-C "Type C" port...)?

Hi, j.mello.

Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.

I understand you want to use your iMac as a display for your MacBook. Here is more information on the system requirements for Target Display Mode and how to enable this feature.

Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode

Cheers

If you want to be able to charge the computer while using any external display, or share

the iMac screen with the USB-C MacBook Retina 12-inch 2015 model, you will need to

use a combination of adapters.

However if you have space and don't want to run two Macs at the same time for one purpose

a second display such as an older (depreciated cost, great value) Apple Cinema aluminum

24-inch or 27-inch (non-retina) display there is a helpful article with images of what to get &

how to line up the adapters to use a larger display plus charge the MacBook USB-C...

• How to connect an Apple Display to a USB-C MacBook:

https://underground.net/how-to-connect-an-apple-display-to-a-usb-c-macbook/

This is another method to use a large display and not tie up a second computer as a display.

Good luck in however you arrange your Macs for use & viewing pleasure...! 🙂