News of the new MacBook Air M3 came as a bit of a surprise: it can run two external displays with the laptop closed. This is a change from single-display support for all other M1, M2, and M3 MacBooks, includ ing the current entry-level MacBook Pro, which uses the same chip as the new Air .
However, this will change. 9to5Mac has confirmed with Apple that the M3 MacBook Pro will receive a software update that will allow the laptop to get the same external display support as the M3 MacBook Air. Details were not available as to when the software update will be released; Apple is set to release the macOS Sonoma 14.4 update, but it’s unclear if the new display support is part of it.
Apple’s previous Macs with base M-series chips (M1, M2, and M3) have always supported two displays in total. However, even though you can connect two displays to the Mac mini, when it came to the iMac and MacBooks, the built-in display was part of that scenario. This next update will finally allow users to close their MacBook and continue operating two screens at the same time. However, when you open the lid, one of the two screens turns off.
If you want to be able to connect two external displays and activate the laptop’s display (three displays total), you need to get at least a MacBook Pro M3 Pro. If you want to run four external displays, you need to get a MacBook Pro M3 Max. Read our guide on how to connect two or more external displays to a MacBook M1, M2, or M3.
