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Lower-End Apple Silicon Macs With 10-Core M4 Chip to Fully Support Two External Displays

In addition to the new iMac (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/28/apple-announces-imac-with-m4-chip-upgraded-camera-new-colors-and-more/) with the 10-core M4 chip being the first-ever Mac with support for up to an 8K external display at 120Hz (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/28/10-core-m4-imac-supports-8k-display-at-120hz/), the computer also supports up to two 6K external displays at 60Hz. That's a very notable upgrade, as lower-end Apple silicon Macs like the MacBook Air, entry-level MacBook Pro, and previous iMac models have mostly been limited to a single external display, at least on an official basis.



(https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2024/01/hero-banner-displays.jpg)

Two exceptions are the MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 chip, which support up to two external displays, but only when the laptop's lid is closed (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/07/29/macos-sonoma-14-6-dual-display-support/). Another exception is the Mac mini, which has an HDMI port for connecting a second display. DisplayLink adapters have also been a viable solution for multiple external displays ever since the first Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip launched in 2020.



But the 10-core M4 chip is notable in that it will bring proper support for two external displays to more lower-end Macs for the first time since Apple silicon launched, without any special tricks required. No more DisplayLink adapters, and no needing to have the MacBook's lid closed. That's a significant, long-awaited advancement for Apple silicon.



Higher-end Apple silicon Macs have supported multiple external displays since the MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips launched in 2021.



Apple is expected to announce (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/28/apple-promises-two-more-mac-announcements/) a new entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the 10-core M4 chip this week, and an alleged leak (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/08/macbook-pro-m4-two-external-displays/) already confirmed that the laptop will support two external displays with the lid open. Next year, the M4 chip should expand to the MacBook Air, and 10-core configurations should likewise support two external displays.



The new iMac is available to pre-order now, and it launches on Friday, November 8.<div class="linkback">Related Roundups: iMac (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/), MacBook Air (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-air/), MacBook Pro (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-pro/)</div><div class="linkback">Buyer's Guide: iMac (Buy Now) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac), 15" MacBook Air (Neutral) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#15-MacBook-Air), 14" & 16" MacBook Pro (Don't Buy) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Pro_16), 13" MacBook Air (Neutral) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air)</div><div class="linkback">Related Forums: iMac (https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/imac.91), MacBook Air (https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/macbook-air.122), MacBook Pro (https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/macbook-pro.90)</div>
This article, &quot;Lower-End Apple Silicon Macs With 10-Core M4 Chip to Fully Support Two External Displays (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/28/m4-chip-two-external-displays/)&quot; first appeared on MacRumors.com (https://www.macrumors.com)

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Source: Lower-End Apple Silicon Macs With 10-Core M4 Chip to Fully Support Two External Displays (https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/28/m4-chip-two-external-displays/)