Users of certain ultrawide and super-ultrawide external monitors are reporting that some resolutions are not available when used with an Apple Silicon M1 Mac, but Apple says a fix is coming.
Apple’s Apple Silicon M1-based Macs have changed the supported external monitors, but now an unknown number of users are reporting issues with limited resolution options.
Specifically, when so-called ultrawide or super-ultrawide displays are connected to the new M1 Macs, macOS Big Sur does not provide the option to use certain resolutions. Such monitors are built to display a range of resolutions, but those are simply not listed in the System preferences, Screen panel.
“Apple is aware of this issue,” the company said in a new support document, “and a fix is planned for a future macOS update.”
The problem was first noticed by MacRumors. Apple has not confirmed when a fix will be released, only adding that “this document will be updated as more information becomes available”.
The settings window of Apple’s Displays does not show all available resolutions that a connected monitor can support
It is also not yet clear how widespread the problem is, or whether it only affects certain brands of monitors. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro and the M1-based MacBook Air both support only one external monitor, instead of several in their previous Intel versions.
The new Mac mini has a similar limitation with only one external display allowed through DisplayPort. However, it is possible to run a second monitor on the Mac mini via HDMI.