macOS Sonoma 14.6 boosts clamshell mode on the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro by enabling dual external display support when the lid is closed.
The base 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is the only model in the MacBook Pro lineup that couldn’t drive two external displays in clamshell mode (when the lid is closed) at launch. This was a software limitation that Apple promised to address by bringing support for two external displays on this laptop in a future macOS update.
Well, said update dropped on July 29, 2024, in the form of macOS Sonoma 14.6. After venturing into System Settings > General > Software Update to install the update, you should be able to use your 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro in clamshell mode with up to two external displays connected at the same time. Clamshell mode enables you to continue using your Mac laptop even with the lid closed by connecting it to an external display and a wireless keyboard and mouse.
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro: macOS Sonoma 14.6 brings dual external display support for better clamshell mode
The support page on Apple’s website highlighting what’s new in the updates for macOS Sonoma states that “this update adds support for using up to two external displays when the laptop lid is closed on 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip and also provides important bug fixes and security updates.”
Additionally, Apple refreshed its support page dedicated to external display support on the MacBook Pro to reflect the fact that base M3 MacBook Pros can now drive two external displays simultaneously in clamshell mode.
One external display
- Supports one display in any one of these configurations:
- One display up to 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt
- One display up to 4K at 144Hz over HDMI
Two external displays
- Supports two displays in any one of these configurations with lid closed:
- One display up to 6K at 60Hz, and one display up to 5K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt
- One display up to 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display up to 4K at 100Hz over HDMI
Even if you don’t own a base 14-inch MacBook Pro, you should install the update as it fixes more than three dozen vulnerabilities, including several zero-day exploits which might have been exploited in the wild. Similar security protections are available on the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Vision Pro via the Software Update mechanism, including older iPhones, iPads and Macs running iOS and iPadOS 16 and 15, as well as macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura.