As spotted by the folks at iMore, the macOS Sonoma 14.6 update released on July 29 has added support for two external displays on the M3 MacBook Pro. People have been waiting for this since the M3 MacBook Air launched in March with this feature, and now it’s finally here.
Apple confirmed its intentions to bring this update to the M3 MacBook Pro around the time the M3 Air launched, but it’s unknown why it took so long. The feature shares the same limitation as the M3 Air — you can only use two external displays while the laptop is closed. This is different from models using the M1 Pro, M2 Pro, or M3 Pro level chips that can handle two external monitors and the native display all at once.
Handling multiple screens requires a lot of power, which, to put it simply, is why the standard chips can handle less and the more expensive chips can handle more. MacBook Pros with the M2 Max or M3 Max chip can handle up to four external displays.
However, knowing which chips can do what isn’t always intuitive. Some people might feel like an M3 chip or a MacBook Pro should be able to do what older Pro chips can do with no problem — but that’s not quite how it works. The number may go up, but the standard chips are designed to handle standard tasks and have certain limitations.
If you need power, you typically have to pay for it. But this two-display compromise for the M3 chip is a great way to get the best of both worlds.
