M1 MacBook Pro and Air can only drive 1 external display

Having worked at Apple Retail and an enterprise Apple SME, you never buy v1 of a major redesign. Either physical or internal.

Original v1 Intel portable pro machines had a nasty kernel panic when connecting to Cisco APs in 2006. Since startups were starting to adopt Apple, this caused problems where I worked.

New keyboard key mechanisms a few years ago that Apple had to switch to something that wasn’t prone to fail as often.

I’m sure these first few v1 of Apple devices adopting M1 will have limitations that are dealbreakers for existing customers. I recommend holding out for M2 (or whatever their numbering scheme is) before they determine fixes for what customers want. Besides, I expect a ton of hardware gotchas will be posted on Twitter and blogs after these M1 devices hit consumer and business hands. Then there’s something new to talk about with Apple.

Doesn't seem all that surprising considering all of the M1 Macs are the low-end machines. Note the RAM options, SSD options, and port configuration.

The higher spec Macs are still to come. When they do, if those don't support more monitors, then there's a problem.

I am addicted to my dual monitor setup, so this is unfortunately a deal-breaker for me. I will have to wait until Apple Silicon can get it done. My MBP 2017 still does a good job.

Essentially:

Apple Silicon Macbooks can only run 1 external display at a time. Mac Minis are the exception to this due to the additional HDMI port.

I'm always interested in what Apple doesn't mention than what they keep showing off in their 'announcements'. Thus, I see no point in buying the first generation of any Apple product with major architectural changes like the current Apple Silicon Macs, 1st Gen Apple Watches and AirPods.

Sounds like good advice to follow when evaluating Apple products.