Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip inside is getting a key feature, often requested by professional users, via a software update.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro can be had with either an Apple M3 chip, an M3 Pro chip, or an M3 Max chip. But only the variants with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chip support two external displays. Per Apple’s support document on the matter, the MacBook Pro with the M3 chip supports either one display up to 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one display up to 4K at 144Hz over HDMI.
This created an odd discrepancy, as Apple’s new MacBook Air models, which also feature the M3 chip, support two displays (the lid of the laptop itself must however be closed).
But now we know that this same functionality is coming to the 14-inch MacBook Pro via a software update. Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that the feature is coming, and it will function exactly the same as it does on the new MacBook Air models.
(If you’re wondering, this was never an issue for the 16-inch MacBook Pro as that machine can only be had with the M3 Pro or M3 Max chip anyways.)
For some users, this may not be a big deal, but for professionals who are used to working with two external displays, it’s an important feature.
We don’t know when, exactly, the new feature is coming; it could happen with the launch of macOS Sonoma 14.4, which is currently available as beta software.