How many 4K external monitors (2 or 4) are supported by the 2020 13-inch Macbook Pro that has 4 Thunderbolt ports (hence, model identifier 2251)?

sakkysakky wrote:

• The following webpage is ambiguous as to whether 2 or 4 external monitors are supported by model identifier 2251.

First, the webpage says “You can connect up to four 4K displays or two 5K displays using the four Thunderbolt 3 ports on your MacBook Pro.”

Then it says:

“You can connect displays in these configurations:

One 5K display with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 at 60Hz

• Two 4K displays with resolutions of 4096 x 2304 at 60Hz

• Two 4K displays with resolutions of 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz”

Even more confusingly: the title of the page says that the page is regarding the Macbook Pro model that has 2 (not 4) Thunderbolt ports.

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT211191

But in any case, I just want to know whether 2 or 4 4K external monitors are supported by A2251.

At what resolution is the question, and is 30Hz an option for you?

ref: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-13/specs/

Use external monitors with your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202351

Use multiple displays with your Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-multiple-displays-mchl7c7ebe08/mac

From https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-13/specs/:

• One external 6K display with 6016-by-3384 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors, or
• One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors, or
• Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors

I sent them a complaint about this loose language about a week ago, and it looks like the editors have caught up with the revisions.

If you refresh those articles, at this writing, they no longer suggest four displays are possible on that MacBook Pro.

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The 13-in models support TWO external displays, and if those displays are large, the computer WILL get hot and spin up the fans and make more noise than at rest with only the built-in display.