YouTuber Ruslan Tulupov reports that it's possible to run up to six external displays from the M1 Mac mini and five external displays from the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This is possible for M1 Macs with the help of DisplayLink and DisplayPort adapters. This far exceeds Apple's stated limits on external displays with M1 Macs.
main host for new "M1 Macs" isn't able to support as many external displays as their Intel-based predecessors. The previous Intel could drive one 6K or 5K external display or up to two 4K external displays, and the previous MacBook Pro could drive one 5K external display or up to two 4K external displays. The 2018 Intel-based Mac mini could drive up to three 4K displays or one 5K and one 4K display.
Apple says the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro can drive one external display at resolution at 60Hz. The M1 Mac mini can drive one display at up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display at up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0. That means each new M1 Mac can drive one fewer display than the model it replaces.
However, Tulupov discovered that it is possible to run up to six external displays from the M1 Mac mini and five external displays from the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This is achieved using some DisplayPort adapters and DisplayLink software. When the M1 Mac's ports are filled, DisplayPort adapters must be connected via an external dock to provide more ports.
Tulupov used a mix of external displays, ranging from 4K to 1080p, as the Mac's Thunderbolt ports don't have the bandwidth to run six 4K displays at full resolution. Therefore, users will have to be selective about the resolutions of the external displays.
Tulupov, after testing, described the displays' performance as "awesome." When closing and opening the MacBook Air, the displays behaved as expected, and the setup seems to be more than adequate for everyday use.
This solution may offer a small boost to users who were disappointed by the limited external display capabilities of M1 Macs
