Some computer setups on social media are like highly functional art, beautifully curated and seemingly permanent, like museum pieces. Others are just weird, wonderful and fleeting. Today’s example is more the latter case, featuring a “spec’d out” M4 Mac mini used with an iPad Air and a tiny touch screen as external displays, plus a Magic Trackpad and a crazy split keyboard.
People questioned the lack of a MacBook, but other commenters rose up in defense of the oddball setup.
Two new HDMI adapters from Other World Computing (OWC) solve the external display limitations that have frustrated Apple Silicon Mac users since the M1 chip’s introduction, the company said Monday. The new OWC USB-C Quad HDMI 4K Adapter and redesigned OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Adapter offer Mac owners a way to connect multiple external monitors without juggling multiple dongles.
“Whether you’re working with spreadsheets, streaming data, editing video or just need more screen real estate to stay productive, we believe your gear shouldn’t hold you back,” said Larry O’Connor, OWC’s founder and CEO. “With our new Quad and enhanced Dual HDMI adapters, we’re giving users the power to easily expand their visual workspace, without the complexity or cost of juggling multiple adapters or sacrificing performance.”
If you use a desktop computer like Mac mini or Mac Studio — or if you typically hunch over a MacBook or other laptop — it’s time to bring beautiful views to your computer setup with a big, bright external display. And with the holiday season upon us, you can monitor Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals with plenty of Amazon bargains on external displays with 4K or 5K resolution to choose from. That includes every iteration of Apple’s popular Studio Display at $300 off!
See below for the best Black Friday monitor deals we’ve seen. And don’t miss our roundup of the best Apple Black Friday deals.
Update: While most of the Studio Display options are sold out, plenty of other deals are still in effect for Cyber Monday. And some discounts are even better now.
Two new external monitors BenQ showcased this week at Adobe MAX in Miami cater specifically to Mac and MacBook users — especially creative professionals. PD2730S and PD3226G, part of BenQ’s DesignVue PD series, promise to deliver exceptional color accuracy and performance for designers, illustrators and content creators.
“BenQ has meticulously gathered feedback from professionals to design monitors that precisely meet their requirements with always accurate and consistent colors,” said Houston Wei, senior director of BenQ North America. “The new PD2730S and PD3226G were designed with both Mac and PC users in mind to provide unparalleled color features with invaluable new software including Display ColorTalk and Palette Master Ultimate.”
If you use a desktop computer like Mac mini or you typically hunch over a MacBook or other laptop, it’s time to bring beautiful views to your computer setup with a big, bright external display. And with Amazon Prime Day in full swing July 16 and 17, you have plenty of Prime Day deals on external displays with 4K or 5K resolution to choose from. See below.
UPDATE: We first ran this post for July Prime Day, and now we’ve updated it with great external monitor deals for Prime Day October 8 – 9, including 24-inch 1080p displays and portable screens, too. And Wednesday saw more updates, like an even lower price on Studio Display with Standard Glass (more than $300 off!). And other deals below got sweeter, too. And though prices on some items fluctuate, Amazon has extended many deals beyond Wednesday.
On Wednesday we drooled shamelessly over an M2 Ultra Mac Pro driving a Pro Display XDR and two Studio Displays, a rig that prices out somewhere around $20,000. So on Friday it’s back to financial reality for us, none too soon. And in today’s MacBook Pro setup from a college student, part of that thrifty reality means deploying a ridiculously affordable SupTek Monitor Mount for the external display. The user recommends it. Why? It just works.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup belongs to a coder in Panama who uses two excellent stands to lift almost all of his gear off his desk. One’s a microphone arm doubling as a headphone stand. The other, more-substantial rig is a Vivo Dual Monitor Desk Mount that holds aloft two external displays and a MacBook Pro on a tray. That really tidies up the desk.
For anyone who thinks of the world’s most popular laptop — MacBook Air — as Apple’s lightweight laptop in more ways than one, like it’s strictly for students and amateurs, it’s probably time to update your view. Today’s attractive working setup from Germany finds its slim-but-powerful M3 MacBook Air provides plenty of computing power.
There’s a lot to love about M1 MacBooks, but easy connectivity with multiple external displays isn’t on the list. So people often wonder which dock or adapter might suit their need to use one or more external displays with the laptop. Today’s M1 MacBook Air user asked for advice and got it. You can check out the three main recommendations for a good dock for MacBook Air below.
The new M3 MacBook Air laptops Apple rolled out Monday support up to two 5K (or lower rsolution) external displays in clamshell mode. And now the base 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro will add multi-display support, according to a report.
In the case of the entry-level MacBook Pro, which uses the same chip but lacks multi-display functionality, support will come in the form of a software update. M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pro models already support the feature.
★★★★☆
NexDock lets you easily add a 13-inch external screen, keyboard and trackpad to your iPad or iPhone 15 and make them even more useful. Plus, there are bonus features: The all-in-one accessory recharges the Apple device, and includes a microSD card reader and an additional USB-C port.
I tested the Nex’s NexDock for this review, and found it a great fit for iPad — and a somewhat problematic one for iPhone 15, though a third-party app helps. Here’s why.
★★★★☆
The KYY K3-3 Portable Monitor adds a high-quality second screen to your Mac or iPad. Even some iPhones. It’s 15.6 inches and has a 4K resolution, so it’s designed for work and play wherever you go.
I tested the reasonably priced second screen in my home office and when working remotely to see how it stands up to real-world use. I like it more than I expected to.
The Espresso 17 Pro answers the demand for a high-end portable monitor for MacBooks. It sports a 17.3-inch display at a 4K resolution, but it comes in a sleek package ready for on-the-go use. (Update: For a detailed Espresso 17 Pro review, check out our in-depth analysis of its features and performance.)
Beyond increasing the user’s workspace, the display includes a touchscreen for digital artists looking to add this capability to their Mac.
The new 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S9 Monitor with 5K resolution started shipping to addresses in the United States Monday, the company said. It comes along with specs and price very similar to Apple’s popular Studio Display.
The new monitor, which won a CES Innovation Award earlier this year, costs $1,599 — just like Studio Display. But Samsung’s comes with a tilt- and heigh-adjustable stand while Apple charges $400 for one.
External screens for MacBook or iPad aren’t just convenient in the office — they’re also great to use on the go. There are a range of portable external displays on the market, including some with touchscreens.
Here are my recommendations for the best screens ready to go with you to a coffee shop or Paris.
Ugreen’s latest multiport docking station — sporting nine ports for most workstation connectivity needs — is helpful in several ways, including if you want to extend an M1 MacBook’s external-display capacity from one to two.
The device also offers 100 watts fast charging plus fast file transfer via USB-A and USB-C ports.
★★★★☆
Slip the KYY 15.6-inch 1080P USB-C Portable Monitor in the same bag as your notebook and you can always count on having more screen space to work.
M1 iPad users looking forward to external display support should also think about this screen. Or attach it to your Switch for more fun on the run.
I used KYY’s monitor for a couple of weeks. Here’s why I find it surprisingly good.
One of the most-requested iPad features is here. Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 puts applications in resizable, floating windows. I’ve tested the first beta of the new system for several days now, and there’s a lot to like. And there’s plenty of frustration too. But some of that comes from this being an early beta.
Here’s my hands-on experience with the iPad’s new multitasking system, and why I think it’s going to change the way many of us use our tablets.
Anyone with an eye on the newly announced MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro should be aware that they have a limitation: each supports only a single external monitor. It seems that’s all the Apple M2 processor can handle.
But the same is true for MacBooks with the original M1 chip, and workarounds were developed for these devices that will likely work with the M2 models.
Although Apple refuses to make a touchscreen Mac, the Espresso Display V2 is ready to fill in the gap. There are 15.6-inch and 13.3-inch versions of the very slim external display, and both support touch and an optional stylus.
I tested the screen with a MacBook and iPad to see how well it performs in ordinary use. And I also tried out the stylus as well as the stand for desktop use and the case for taking the display on the go.
The InnoView 15.6-inch Portable Monitor might be everything you’re looking for in a second screen for your MacBook. First off, it’s beautiful. And it’s very slim and lightweight. Plus it works with a wide variety of devices: Mac, iPad, even iPhone with the right adapter.
I used InnoView’s on-the-go display for both work and entertainment. Here’s all the many ways it impressed me. And its one flaw.
Luna Display 5.1 adds the ability to use any Mac as a wireless second display for a PC. And that’s just one of the new features in the update, which also adds support for using a 4K or 5K computer as a second screen.
These features build on this device’s basic ability to turn an iPad into a Mac display.
Luna Display 5.0 allows Windows PC users to make their iPad into a second screen. A hardware/software combination from Astropad lets the two disparate computers communicate via a wireless adapter for USB-C or HDMI.
The app could already turn an iPad into a Mac display with a dongle.
A pair of adapters just launched by Hyper let MacBooks with an Apple M1 processor connect to dual HDMI monitors. Apple says the macOS notebooks can only use one external display, but users found a workaround. And Hyper built this workaround into its latest accessories.
There’s a basic HyperDrive Dual 4K HDMI adapter, plus a second version that offers additional ports.
Your iPhone is already one of the most useful things you own, but it can do even more if you hook it to a large second screen. Making the connection simply requires an adapter, and doing so opens up quite a few entertainment — and even some productivity — options.
iOS and iPhone are surprisingly powerful, and are being held back by the small display. Here’s what you get with a bigger one.