Discover how to connect to up to 6 external displays on an M1 Mac
All three new Macs with the Apple Silicon "M1" chip have fewer external displays that can be connected than traditional Intel-chip Macs. However, a workaround has been reported to connect more displays and output video than the number listed on the website.
Apple says on its website that the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro support one external display (up to 6K resolution, 60Hz). And the M1 version of the Mac mini claims to support up to two external displays.
But with the Intel version, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro can display one external 6K to 5K display, or up to two external 4K displays. Also, Mac mini (2018) can display up to 3 4K displays, or 1 5K display and 1 4K screen. In other words, the M1 version of the Mac generally has one less external display than the Intel version of the Mac.
But according to YouTuber Ruslan Tulupov, with DisplayLink software and a DisplayLink-certified display adapter (via an external dock), you can exceed Apple's description, specifically up to six M1 Mac minis and an M1 MacBook Air. And I found that I could connect up to 5 displays on my MacBook Pro.
However, there are some restrictions on this. The Thunderbolt port on the Mac doesn't have enough bandwidth to simultaneously display six 4K displays at full resolution, so Tulupov mixes external display resolutions from 4K to 1080p. Even if it is practical for general users, it seems that it is necessary to set the resolution one by one.
In performance testing, we're rendering Final Cut Pro while playing full-resolution video on multiple displays. If you look at the situation, you can see that it is operating almost normally with only occasional dropped frames. Even if you close the MacBook Air and open it in clamshell mode, you can see enough images, and Tulupov describes it as "great".
Although not tested this time, Tulupov points out that more screens may be available with the Sidecar feature, which makes the iPad a sub-screen. He costs extra for an external dock and display adapter, but that's good news for anyone who hasn't bought it because of the number of external displays on the M1 Mac.
Source: Ruslan Tulupov (YouTube)
Via: MacRumors