A Russian YouTuber by the name of Ruslan Tulupov just configured his brand new M1 Mac mini to run six displays and an M1 MacBook Air to drive five displays.
Which is both bonkers and amazing.
In its documentation, Apple says that the M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook only support up to 1 external display up to 6K at 60Hz. And the Mac mini up to 1 6K at 60Hz over USB-C/Thunderbolt and 1 display up to 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. Apple, with previous hardware, has sometimes understated what its hardware is capable of driving, especially in terms of external displays.
The workaround involves downloading the DisplayLink software for macOS and depending on how many displays you want to run, you may need a USB-C to USB-A 3.0 or a Thunderbolt or USB-C dock as well as additional cables and materials.
Tulupov posted the following instructional videos, and even with six displays running via the Mac mini, the desktop’s fan doesn’t seem to kick up during his testing.
Accessories/adapters he used include:
- StarTech USB 3.0 to DisplayPort 4K single adapter
- StarTech USB 3.0 to DisplayPort 4K dual adapter
- StarTech USB 3.0 to HDMI 4K adapter
- CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt 3 dock
If you’ve tried anything similar with your new M1-based Apple hardware on your end, please let us know about your experiences in the comments.
Good luck and good hacking!!!