Apple Details Thunderbolt Multi-Display Capabilities

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Multiple displays can be a big boost to productivity, as many writers, programmers and designers will attest to. But with Apple launching its Thunderbolt technology with the promise for multi-display support, it seems not all Thunderbolt-enabled computers can output to multiple Thunderbolt Display monitors.

The Thunderbolt platform, which Apple worked closely on with Intel, promises support for a multiple array of devices, including video output, storage, user input devices, and the like. As such, Apple has released new computers with Thunderbolt as the sole display interface (in lieu of DVI or HDMI). This even includes the possibility of daisy-chaining multiple displays. But while this seems to be promising, an Apple support document indicates that not all users might be able to output to more than one screen.

Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt display is shipping soon, but before you commit $999 for this purchase, check out the source link for compatibility and daisy-chaining options. In particular, Apple says some computers will only support a limited number of Thunderbolt displays.

• Mid-2011 MacBook Air can only support one Thunderbolt display;
• Early 2011 MacBook Pro, mid-2011 iMac, mid-2011 Mac mini can support two Thunderbolt displays;
• Connecting two Thunderbolt displays to the 13-inch MacBook Pro will disable the computer’s internal LCD screen;
• Mind-2011 iMac will support two external Thunderbolt displays, regardless of which port the displays are connected to (the iMac has two ports);
• Mac Mini with AMD graphics will support a total of three displays: two Thunderbolt displays, as well as an HDMI compatible monitor.

Additionally, Mini DisplayPort displays will not light up if connected to the Thunderbolt port on the Thunderbolt Display, which might be disappointing to some users, since these devices currently work daisy-chained off of other Thunderbolt peripherals. Likewise, since Thunderbolt is a technology designed for daisy-chaining, Apple recommends that users plug in the Thunderbolt displays to the main port on the computer, and to plug in additional peripherals to the extension ports on the Thunderbolt Display.