Users of some ultrawide and super-ultrawide external monitors report that some resolutions are not available when used with an Apple Silicon M1 Mac, but Apple says it is following a solution.
Apple’s Apple Silicon M1 Macs have changed which external monitors are supported, 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 offer the option to use certain resolutions. Such monitors are built to display a range of resolutions, but they are simply not listed in System preferences, Display panel.
“Apple is aware of this issue,” the company said in a new support document, “and the resolution is planned for a future MacOS update.”
The problem was first spotted by MacRumors. Apple has not confirmed when a fix will be released, adding that “this document will be updated as more information becomes available.”
Apple’s Display Settings panel does not display all available resolutions that an attached 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 M1-based MacBook Air are limited to accepting a single external monitor, compared to Intel’s multiple previous versions.
The new Mac mini has a similar limitation, with only one external display allowed through DisplayPort. However, you can run a second monitor on your Mac mini via HDMI.