Over the weekend, the DisplayLink Manager app was updated with native support for Macs with the M1 chip, additional Retina resolutions for 4K displays, and a fix for an issue where screen tearing may occur in some high-load cases.
DisplayLink Manager provides a convenient way to enable your DisplayLink dock, adapter, or monitor on macOS. The app combines DisplayLink's latest driver with features that streamline the setup of mutliple displays with up to 4K resolution. Version 1.3 of the app can be downloaded from the DisplayLink website, and requires macOS Big Sur 11.2 or any version of macOS Catalina, according to the release notes.
DisplayLink adapters have proven popular with M1 Macs, as they allow for multiple external displays to be connected. Officially, Apple says M1 Macs only support one external display (excluding the Mac mini, which can support a second display via HDMI).
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Trade-offs, which I consider minor compared to the upsides, are:
[LIST=1]
* Log in with Apple Watch doesn't work when ext monitors are active (due to screen recording API being active); it works when undocked in laptop mode.
* NightShift/Flux doesn't work on DisplayLink monitors, only on the primary 5k TB3 monitor that is direct-connected, and also works as a USB-C hub for DisplayLink daisy-chaining, for 2 more WQHD monitors.
* Can't think of #3.
I sold my 1-year old setup second hand and got enough money to get the M1, the dock, AirPods Max, and still had money left over. It's been 13 years since I had a Mac setup that worked as well as the current one does. That was a well-equipped "cheesegrater" Mac Pro with a 32" Cinema Display.
- They've refused to produce any for years save for a ridiculous $6k entry.
- They disabled Target Display Mode so people can't use high quality Mac displays as external displays anymore.
- They allowed M1 Macs to be gimped and did not prioritize multi display support.
If I were Intel, this is what I would be laughing at... "we at intel have cpu's that can actually make your monitor work"
If you use a TB3 Dock, its irrelevant, I'm using a Caldigit TB3+ on my 16" MBP (with a 10GBe TB3 adapter connected to the TB3 Out on the Dock), the other ports are redundant.
My M1 Mac mini is connected to a spare Caldigit USB C Pro/TB3 Dock and the second port is used for a 10Gbe adapter, the Caldigit dock also drives the second display with no issues.