Mon, 7:54 p.m. · Hardware · cmkApple today announced the MacBook Air 13″ and 15″ with M3 chip in a press release – and the new model corresponds exactly to the information that has been heard from the rumor mill in recent months. But there was a surprise: Apple seems to have taken user feedback regarding external screens to heart, because the new MacBook Air with M3 can now control two external screens.
The number of supported external displays was already an issue when the first M-Macs were introduced at the end of 2020: With the Intel-based previous models, it was usually possible to connect several external displays – but only with the more expensive M1-Pro and M1-Max -Laptops allowed users to connect more than one additional screen to portable Macs again.
One catch remains
If you want to operate two external screens on the MacBook Air M3, you have to do without the internal display and close the laptop – only then can two external displays be controlled. A 6K screen at 60 Hz and another 5K display, also at 60 Hz, can be controlled.
M3 MacBook Pro 14″: retrofitting via software
A few months ago, Apple revised the MacBook Pro series – and introduced the MacBook Pro 13″ with M2 chip. The MacBook Pro 14″ with M3 chip will serve as a replacement without an additional name – but different from the more expensive Pro models M3 Pro and M3 Max, the smallest 14″ only supports one external screen.
However, Apple has now announced that the functionality of the M3 MacBook Air will also be upgraded to the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 via a software update. It is likely that macOS 14.4 Sonoma, which is expected to be released next week, will enable this option . This means that after installation it is also possible to control two external screens on the 14″ MacBook Pro with M3 chip. On the other hand, older MacBooks with M2 or M1 chips (without Pro or Max in the name) seem to lack the necessary hardware, so activation via software is not possible. Here it is still only possible to operate an external screen in addition to the integrated display.
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04.03.24 ·
Apple introduces new MacBook Air with M3 chip – support for two external displays, faster WiFi