Apple has finally added dual external display support to the M3 MacBook Pro, nine months after its release. The latest macOS Sonoma 14.6 update enables this feature.
After the update, M3 MacBook Pro users can run two external displays simultaneously, albeit with the lid closed.
M3 MacBook Pro can now drive dual external displays
Apple unveiled the M3 MacBook Pro in late October 2023 with an updated design and faster internals. Then, in March 2024, the company launched the M3 MacBook Air with support for dual external displays. The company confirmed it would roll out a software update to enable similar functionality on the M3 MacBook Pro.
Four months after making the promise, Apple stuck to its word by enabling dual external monitor support on its cheapest Pro MacBook with macOS Sonoma 14.6. Otherwise, this is primarily a bug-fixing release.
As on the M3 MacBook Air, you must close the lid to use dual external displays with the M3 MacBook Pro. With the lid closed, the M3 MacBook Pro can drive up to two 5K external displays at 60Hz resolution. With the lid open, it is limited to supporting one 6K display.
This limitation is not present on M3 Pro/Max (or older M2/M1 Pro/Max) MacBooks, and they can drive up to three external displays simultaneously. Older entry-level MacBook Pro models with M1 and M2 chips can only drive one external monitor.
Update to macOS Sonoma 14.6 now
Besides dual monitor support, macOS Sonoma 14.6 contains patches for several security vulnerabilities. This includes fixing a security loophole that enabled a malicious application to access your private information. You can find more information about macOS Sonoma 14.6’s security contents here.
To download the macOS Sonoma update, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. Then click Software Update. Alternatively, you can install the new version from the App Store.
