M3 MacBook Air Supports More External Displays Than M3 MacBook Pro
If you frequently work with external displays, it's worth noting that Apple's just-announced M3 MacBook Air models support two external displays – one more than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the same M3 chip.
Launched last October, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip simultaneously supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz.
In contrast, both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip support one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, and two external displays with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz when the laptop lid is closed, also known as clamshell mode.
Given that the machines use identical chips, it could be that the additional external display support on the MacBook Airs has been made at the software level. If so, there would seem to be no reason that it could not be added to the M3 MacBook Pro in a future software update. However, it could also be a hardware-based change, and we might not know for sure until a teardown is performed on the new laptops.
The new M3-powered MacBook Air models start from $1,099 and can be pre-ordered on Apple's website, with availability beginning on Friday, March 8. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip starts at $1,599.
Popular Stories
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Apple today released iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems. The new software comes a couple of weeks after Apple released iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 with app changes in the European Union, new emoji, and more. iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Apple's rumored plan to refresh the entire AirPods lineup with a series of new models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The fourth-generation AirPods will reportedly feature a new design with a better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C port. For the first time ever,...
An unpatchable vulnerability has been discovered in Apple's M-series chips that allows attackers to extract secret encryption keys from Macs under certain conditions, according to a newly published academic research paper (via ArsTechnica). Named "GoFetch," the type of cyber attack described involves Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers (DMPs), which try to predict what data the computer will...
The latest 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models have been available for two weeks now, and MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using the 15-inch version since it launched. Over on our YouTube channel, Dan shared a review now that he's been able to spend some quality time with the machine. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The M3 MacBook Air is a perfect...
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...
Top Rated Comments
We all knew it, but to release the same machine in a thinner shell and enable more displays is just a complete piss take. Unless of course they release a firmware/OS update to enable it on the 14 inch too.
My first gen retina MBP ran 3 external displays, it's a farce that they claim their state of the art SoC, worlds best blah blah blah doesn't support 2. And of course now it does support 2.
Oh dear it gets worse. 2 displays only with lid closed. They really take the biscuit.