Mac Studio
How many external displays does your Mac support?
Flicking between browser tabs and apps, or trying to manoeuvre a large spreadsheet can be tricky when using a single display. Nowadays, many people utitlise multiple displays with their Mac to extend their screen space.
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to connecting external displays to a Mac. The number of displays a Mac can support and the resolutions, changes with different Mac specifications and ages. To add confusion, Apple’s recently released M1 and M2 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air support one display, whereas, their Intel predecessors supported more (details below on how you can get around this).
We’ve put together a conclusive guide, a cheat sheet if you will, so you can check how many external displays your Mac supports natively and at what resolution.
How to connect two or more external displays to Apple Silicon M1 or M2 Macs
Apple's M1 13" MacBook Pro, M2 13" MacBook Pro and the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Air only support one external display, natively. Fortunately, there are workarounds that allow you to connect additional displays. This typically requires some software and a docking station, hub or adapter.
One of the risks with software workarounds is that problems can occur with future Apple software updates, so this is something to be wary of.
Workaround 1: DisplayLink software
DisplayLink's software allows you to get around the M1/M2 MacBook's single display limitation. This should work with the majority of USB-C adapters and docks that allow you to connect a display.
Workaround 2: InstantView Docking station
Another third-party solution is SiliconMotion's InstantView Docking station works similarly to DisplayLink, allowing you to connect additional displays via the dock.
Mac external display support: cheat sheet
MacBook Pro
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 |
|
MacBook Pro 13”, M2, 2022 |
1 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
|
M1 Pro: 2 🖥 🖥, |
M1 Pro: Up to two external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
M1 Max: Up to three external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) and one external 4k display (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz |
|
|
M1 Pro: 2 🖥 🖥, |
M1 Pro: Up to two external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
M1 Max: Up to three external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) and one external 4k display (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz |
|
|
1 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
4 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 |
Up to two external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
Up to four external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
4 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 |
Up to two external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to four external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
MacBook Air
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 |
|
MacBook Air, M2, 2022 |
1 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
|
1 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
MacBook Air, 2017 - 2015 |
1 🖥 |
One external display (3840 by 2160) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
Mac mini
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 |
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt and one external 4K display (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz via HDMI |
n/a |
|
|
3 🖥 🖥 🖥 |
Two external 4K displays (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt 3 and one external 4K displays (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz via HDMI |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt 3 and one external 4K displays (4096 by 2304) at 60 Hz via HDMI |
|
|
Mac mini, 2014 |
2 🖥 🖥 |
Up to two displays at 2560 by 1600 pixels |
1 display at: |
iMac
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 |
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
n/a |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz AMD Radeon Pro 5700 or AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT: One external 6K display (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz AMD Radeon Pro 5700 or AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT: Up to two external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
One external 5K display (5120 by 2880) at 60 Hz |
Up to two external 4k displays (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz |
|
|
2 🖥 🖥 |
1.6GHz: One external display at 3840 by 2160 2.8GHz: One external display at 4096 by 2304 |
n/a |
Mac Studio
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 | |
|
5 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 |
Up to four external 6K displays (6016 by 3384) at 60 Hz via USB-C and one external 4k display (4096 by 2304) at 60Hz via HDMI |
n/a |
Mac Pro
| Model | External display support | Setup 1 | Setup 2 |
|
Mac Pro, 2019 |
Up to 12 displays depending on graphics configuration |
AMD Radeon Pro W5500X: up to four 4K external displays, one 5K display or one Pro Display XDR AMD Radeon Pro W6600X: up to four 4K displays, two 5K displays or two Pro Display XDRs AMD Radeon Pro W5700X: Support for up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays or three Pro Display XDRs AMD Radeon Pro W6800X: Support for up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays or three Pro Display XDRs AMD Radeon Pro W6900X: Support for up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays or three Pro Display XDRs AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo: Support for up to eight 4K displays, four 5K displays or six Pro Display |
n/a |
|
Mac Pro, 2013 |
6 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 🖥 |
Up to three dual-cable 5K displays (5120 by 2880) |
Up to six Thunderbolt displays |
References
This information is compiled using Apple’s Techincal Specifications. These can be a little hard to find for older models if you don’t know where to look. You can find them here: Apple Tech Specs
