Apple is just awful with external displays in general. I’ve yet to find a monitor/Mac combo that doesn’t have issues.
They really need to put some focus into it because Windows really makes macOS look bad in this regard.
They really need to put some focus into it because Windows really makes macOS look bad in this regard.
For the past year I've been WFH with the MBP (which has a 5500M gpu) driving its own panel (3072x1920), an external "wide" ~4K~ "Big-ass" (3440 x 1440) and an external "4:3" 4k (3840x2160)
No problems here.
[edit: display info]
tanelorn ~ % system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | grep -C1 Resolution
Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD
Resolution: 3072 x 1920 Retina
Framebuffer Depth: 24-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
--
V3L6W:
Resolution: 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD - Ultra-Wide Quad HD)
UI Looks like: 3440 x 1440 @ 60 Hz
--
PN-K321:
Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (2160p/4K UHD 1 - Ultra High Definition)
UI Looks like: 3840 x 2160 @ 30 HzSome of the issues include: screens refusing to turn on, random screen shutdowns (then turns back on), incorrect refresh rate on wake from sleep, incorrect resolution on wake from sleep, monitor position gets reset again on wake, screen image offset on monitor, once detected resolutions and capabilities not detected after restart (hdr, 4k, brightness control), refusing to pass audio through, clamshell mode will keep internal display active…
I’m not alone (and this isn’t limited to M1)
"screens refusing to turn on, random screen shutdowns (then turns back on), incorrect refresh rate on wake from sleep, incorrect resolution on wake from sleep, monitor position gets reset again on wake, screen image offset on monitor, once detected resolutions and capabilities not detected after restart (hdr, 4k, brightness control)"
And this can be the display itself that's causing the issue.
An example that i've found:
```If you suspect that you are affected by this issue, see if you find a reference to YCbCr in the menu of the monitor settings. For the Dell, it was in > Menu > Color > Input Color Format``` Dell (P2720DC)
The funny thing is running Windows on my Mac mini via bootcamp shows none of these problems.
And it's what I expected. MacOS or the Display manufacturers treat each other differently in terms of information shared between the display and device itself.
I'm talking about EDID.
https://gist.github.com/ejdyksen/8302862
Not every display, I mean device is built the same. Even if it's the same manufacturer or same device.
That is so annoying on my machine, a band an inch wide is offset by an eight of an inch when it comes out of sleep one time in five. The only solution is a reboot.
I've had all the other problems as well, on both Intel and M1.
In Catalina my Mac Pro with a W5700X happily drove 2 4K monitors in HDR10 at 165Hz.
In Big Sur my options are now SDR at 95Hz or HDR10 at 60Hz.
This has been broken since the 11.0 betas. This happens with multiple GPUs, multiple monitors, multiple interface types.
I originally came to the MBP from the world of windows and being very jaded by BIOS and sleep issues with my Dell XPS 15. Macs just work they said. Well, jokes been on me. I literally have to constantly mute myself during video calls because my $3500 MBP fans are always whirring away so loudly that it ends up fucking up the audio for others during a call. I've had my entire system throttle and grind to a halt during video calls because of thermal throttling when temperatures got higher during this summer.
I'm so over Apple and their laptops. My wife's MBP has a swollen battery that's destroyed the touchbar and touchpad. For all my complaints with Dell, it was nothing in comparison to the pain of owning my MBP. Multimonitor support is a joke. Docks are a joke. Opening apps is a fucking joke due to their sandbox slowing things down to the point that opening any app takes 5-10 seconds.
At this point all I do is use my $3500 MBP as a VNC client to my Linux desktop where I get all my real work done. This is the first and last Mac I will personally own. I can see why they were as popular as they were with the developer crowd. But Apple has lost its way and doesn't give a shit, at least not when it comes to the developer / professional users that they originally targeted with their MBP line.
I'll be going back to Windows/Linux soon and there is very little I will miss when I make the switch.
This is pretty much by sentiment too. My MBP is a "2nd" computer for me, that I only use when building iOS apps - my daily driver is Windows 10, and I'm very happy with it.
It's not quite 50-50 for kernel panic for me, but I'd guess it happens around 20% of the time if the MBP is switched on when I plug in the monitors - hardly much better. The keyboard on my MBP is crap too, and has 2 keys that stop working from time to time. I'm not even a fan of the trackpad that most on HN seem to gush about - it needs too much pressure to click even on the most sensitive setting, and something just feels "weird" about the feel of it and the way teh cursor moves. And it seems something breaks or goes wrong after every.single.os.update - IMO, there are some serious QA issues with OS updates.
Meanwhile on Windows 10, everything Just Works (TM).