![]() In terms of resolution, the 16 inch M1 and M2 MacBook Pro Liquid Retina XDR display has a stunning resolution of up to 254 ppi which can handle 8K video and you simply won’t find an external monitor that can come close to that.Īlmost all of the best external displays for the MacBook Pro support 4K and some of them are even 5K although none of them will match the MacBook Pro’s own internal screen.Ĭheap Full HD (FHD) and even many Quad HD (QHD) monitors however produce poor image quality compared to the MacBook Pro liquid Retina XDR screen and should definitely be avoided. The higher the color gamut, the more colors the monitor can display. If you’re a creative professional then another thing to look for is that the monitor has a wide color gamut coverage which means 97% DCI-P3 or above. If you use a lower resolution than 4K, HDMI 2.1 can even handle up to 240 Hz. ![]() HDMI 2.1 supports 120 Hz at up to 4K resolution and 60 Hz at up to 8K resolution. ![]() HDMI 2.0 supports up to 240 Hz when using 1080p resolution, 144 Hz at up to 1440p resolution, and 60 Hz at up to 4K resolution. Previously both the M1 MacBook Pro and Intel MacBook Pro only supported HDMI 2.0. The latest M2 MacBook Pro supports HDMI 2.1 and in fact one of the big upgrades in the new M2 MacBook Pro was the addition of the HDMI 2.1 port. If a monitor has more than one Thunderbolt port, you can also connect them together which is known as “daisy chaining” your monitors. The other advantage of USB-C and Thunderbolt is that they can deliver power for the monitor via the cable so you don’t need an external power supply to plug the display into. Thunderbolt also supports 10-bit color representation for the best quality color reproduction compared to USB-C. This is important when it comes to transmitting high quality images from your Mac to the display. The main difference is that Thunderbolt cables and ports are Apple specific and support faster transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. There’s often confusion between USB-C and Thunderbolt because the cable and ports are exactly the same but the extent of external monitor support is often different due to the different USB 3, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.0 designations within USB-C. Thunderbolt and USB-C are interchangeable though and without going into too much boring technical detail, Thunderbolt is simply Apple’s version of USB-C.Īs long as the monitor has a USB-C port, you can connect it to your MacBook Pro Thunderbolt port easily. Most new Macs since 2017 have Thunderbolt 3 ports and the M2 MacBook Pro has three Thunderbolt 4 ports but not all external displays have a Thunderbolt port. One of the most important factors when choosing an external display for a MacBook Pro (and indeed any Mac) is USB-C or Thunderbolt port support. There’s the older ones with an Intel chip and since 2020 onwards, the Apple Silicon M1 Macs such as the M1 MacBook Pro with the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max chip and more recently the M2 MacBook Pros with the latest M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max chips.Īlthough Apple still sells refurbished Intel MacBook Pros and M1 MacBook Pros, the company only sells Apple Silicon M2 MacBook Pros from new nowadays.Īll of the monitors reviewed here work perfectly well with both Intel and Apple Silicon M/M2 MacBook Pros as they have either USB-C, Thunderbolt or HDMI ports to connect them to. How To Choose A Monitor For A MacBook ProĪlmost any monitor will work with a MacBook Pro but the amount of choice and port connections can be pretty overwhelming.įirstly, it’s important to understand that there are two types of MacBook Pro out there. Best Monitors For MacBook Pro Comparison Table.Can You Use An iMac As A Monitor For The MacBook Pro?.How Many Monitors Can You Connect To A MacBook Pro?.Is The MacBook Pro Compatible With All Monitors?.What Makes An External Display Best For MacBook Pros?.How To Choose A Monitor For A MacBook Pro.Here we’ve looked at everything from the best professional and budget 4K and 5K displays for the MacBook Pro which are the best external monitors for the MacBook Pro including with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chip. However, when it comes to replicating the amazing Liquid Retina XDR display of MacBook Pros, there are actually very few external displays that do a good job of it so you have to be careful which one you choose. The MacBook Pro has an amazing Retina display but it doesn’t have much screen estate with the latest M1 MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Pro having a maximum screen size of 16 inches.īuying an external monitor is an effective way to boost your productivity, improve your gaming experience and an external display is virtually essential if you’re a professional doing video editing, graphic design or music production. If you’re looking for an external display for your MacBook Pro including the latest M1 and M2 chip MacBook Pros, here we’ve looked at the best monitors for the MacBook Pro of 2023.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |