Your next MacBook Air should support a total of three displays at once via one Thunderbolt connection, according to a leaked roadmap of Intel’s plans for its Ivy Bridge processors in 2012.
With Apple’s next-generation laptops primed to sport Intel’s Ivy Bridge silicon, it’s very likely that future MacBook Airs and Pros will be able to support two external displays plus the MacBook’s built-in screen.
According to MacRumors, Intel’s roadmap reveals that the Ivy Bridge processor will be able to handle three displays simultaneously.
While we’re talking about graphics, as with the desktop Ivy Bridge processors, the mobile processors also support up to three independent displays, although one of these will be the built in display in the notebook, but hopefully we’ll see notebooks with a DisplayPort connector as standard come next year.
Currently, the Sandy Bridge processor will allow the MacBook Air to power one external display via a Thunderbolt connection. The 13-inch MacBook Pro can handle two external displays, but that’s only when the built-in screen is turned off. Ivy Bridge will introduce the ability to use three screens at once across Apple’s entire MacBook line.
Rumors have suggested that Apple is set to introduce a 15-inch MacBook Pro/Air hybrid in 2012, and it’s unclear as to how the Ivy Bridge processor would play into such a release.
