Upgrade to Dual Monitor Setup for Your New M3 MacBook Pro - Tips & Tricks Covered

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

One cool feature Apple’s M3 MacBook Air offers is support for dual monitors. With the lid closed on the 13-inch or the 15-inch M3 Air, you can view the screen on two external monitors at the same time. One external monitor can display the screen with a resolution as high as 6K at 60Hz, while the second monitor’s resolution can go as high as 5K at 60Hz.

If you bought the M3 MacBook Pro that launched in October 2023, you can now enjoy the same feature. Thanks to a recent software update, the dual monitor feature will work the same way on the M3 MacBook Pro as it does on the M3 Air.

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In a support page updated on Tuesday , Apple explained how to use a dual monitor setup with either M3-based MacBook.

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First, you’ll need an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Second, you must be running MacOS Sonoma 14.3 or later on a MacBook Air or MacOS Sonoma 14.6 or later on a MacBook Pro. Third, you’ll need to power the displays through a USB-C connection or a power adapter with a USB-C to MagSafe cable.

To juggle the two displays, connect an external keyboard and a mouse or a trackpad.
Connect your Mac to a power source (if the external display powers the Mac, a separate power adapter isn’t necessary).
Connect the first display. (This will be the primary display, supporting up to 6K resolution at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz.)
Close the lid of your laptop.
Connect the second display. (This will be the secondary display, supporting up to 5K resolution at 60Hz or 4K at 100Hz).
You can now view the screens of both displays.

The M1 and M2 MacBooks can display their screens on only a single external monitor, even with the lid closed. Pricier models with higher-end M chips have always been able to work with multiple displays.

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A MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro or M3 Pro chip can handle up to two external displays, while a MacBook Pro with an M2 Max or M3 Max chip can juggle a whopping four external displays at once. The current 14-inch MacBook Pro is available with a basic M3 chip as well as an M3 Pro or a Max chip, while the 16-inch variant comes with either an M3 Pro or a Max chip.