Apple threw us for a loop earlier with an early morning announcement for the upcoming MacBook Air, which is set to go on sale on March 8. As expected, the new laptop will be available in 13- and 15-inch models and both iterations will feature an M3 processor, the base model of Apple’s third-generation silicon. According to the press release, the M3 is 60 percent faster than the M1 chip and 13 times faster than the last Intel-powered Air.

Apple also took this opportunity to jump on the AI bandwagon, eschewing the question of how much faster its Neural Engine chip can run AI processes. This is all well and good, but until we see some numbers, we’ll just have to take Apple’s word for it.

A new(ish) feature enters the arena

One big leap for MacBook Air

So, aside from the benchmarking fairy dancing in my head about the impending testing, something else that stood out about that announcement had to do with external displays. This marks the first time that an Apple Silicon MacBook Air can support two external monitors via the Thunderbolt ports or a good dock. The Air can support up to a 6K display at 60Hz along with another display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz. There is, of course, a caveat –– the Air’s laptop must be closed for this to work. If not, the Air can only support one external monitor at a time.

Still, it’s a big step forward for the Air and people who like having multiple monitors for work and play. However, while it’s definitely progress for Apple fans, those on the PC side of things, myself included, are completely unimpressed. While two screens are better than one, multi-monitor setups are nothing new. Honestly, I’m surprised that the MacBook Air didn’t have this capability all this time, and I’m surprised that Apple is touting this as a shiny new feature.

Been there, done that

Windows PCs have multi-monitor game down pat

Intel and AMD-powered PCs have had the ability to support a pair of monitors with their respective integrated graphics chips for a while now. It’s a feature that even budget chips such as the Intel Core i3-1335U and AMD Ryzen 3 7440U processor support. It’s such a common feature that a Chromebook could do it. And if that wasn’t enough, depending on the processor, they can support a trio of displays. You don’t have to close the laptop, which is a big deal.

This multi-monitor goodness doesn’t come without some trade-offs. On the Intel side, you can only go up to three 4K monitors. However, thanks to Thunderbolt 5, you can get a display refresh rate of 120Hz. The Razer Blade 18 is one of the first laptops with this feature, as announced at CES 2024. For AMD, the current Ryzen chips with Zen 4 architecture, you get three 4K monitors at 60Hz, which isn’t too shabby, especially when you consider you don’t have to lose the laptop display.

Let’s get one thing clear: bringing dual display capability to the MacBook Air is a great thing that’s long overdue. It will definitely benefit those of us who work better with a multi-monitor setup. It just grinds my gears that to use it, I have to close the lid on the laptop. For my money, I’m willing to take a lower resolution in favor of more monitors, especially if we’re talking 4K.

A screen for a screen

Not worth the trade-off

In short, this is a lackluster move on Apple’s part. It essentially makes users choose between screens instead of giving them what they really want: a true productivity battle station. Sure, the monitors might be bigger with higher resolution, but you lose the MacBook’s display. And if that’s the case, it makes more sense to stick to adding one high-res external monitor to your setup, as that’s a dual-monitor setup in its own right.

What does that say about the M3 chip? According to Apple, it's so much more powerful than the original M1 chip. So why can’t it run three monitors, something that Windows PC has been doing for ages? At the end of the day, I would rather Apple wait until it figured out how to do a multi-monitor setup without shutting the lid on the star player.