Apple to Fix Resolution Issue With Ultrawide Displays on M1 Macs in Future macOS Update

In a new support document, Apple has acknowledged that when an ultrawide or super-ultrawide external display is connected to a Mac with the M1 chip, some resolutions supported by the display may not be available currently.

lg ultrawide display
Apple says it is aware of this issue and has a solution planned for a future macOS update. Apple did not specify exactly when a fix will be available, but the first beta of macOS 11.2 was seeded last week, so that is one possibility.

To see additional resolutions for your external display, click on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your Mac, open System Preferences, click Displays, and press and hold the Option key while you click "Scaled."

There is a running thread about this issue in the MacRumors forums.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

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Top Rated Comments

xraydoc Avatar
61 months ago

Is there any reason apart from aesthetics to have one of these monitors and not just place two ordinary monitors side by side?
Can’t run one full screen app across two displays.
No bezel dividing the display down the middle.
Playing games on an ultrawide is pretty awesome.
M1 Macs can only support one external display without DisplayLink work-arounds.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bag99001 Avatar
61 months ago

Is there any reason apart from aesthetics to have one of these monitors and not just place two ordinary monitors side by side?
[Fixed]

M1 [laptops] don't support dual [external] monitors [without unreliable and expensive dongles/hubs from displaylink].
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SubduedTiger Avatar
61 months ago
“We’re so excited to introduce the next-generation M2 Apple Silicon processor that now supports up to 28 inches of display resolution on virtually any display.

And when you add another machine with an M2 processor, you can run another display. That’s M2 from Apple.”

Attachment Image
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
61 months ago

M1 doesn't support dual monitors.
The M1 mini does support dual monitors. The laptops only support one external in addition to the internal display.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pmiles Avatar
61 months ago

Actually the problem is, the M1 does not support three monitors. The M1 Mini and all the M1 laptops support two. Most people forget to count the internal monitor on the laptops. (I know, the laptops don't support two EXTERNAL monitors but all that takes is one simple mistake with a hammer to fix.)

Edited to say, I was just about to get a couple of ultrawides form my M1. I guess I will put it off a bit.
Unless you have been under a rock, there has been numerous reports of issues with external displays with the new M1 Macs... with ultra wides being the most problematic of them all.

People have probably bought more adapters than you can shake a stick at trying to get their displays to work with the new M1s... only to discover, it was the M1 Macs all along that had the issue. Apple told them it was their device or adapter was the problem... or that it was outright unsupported... until that molehill turned into a mountain of complaints and returns.

M1 Macs aren't the shiny wonder kids all the streamers made them out to be. They have issues whether anyone wants to admit it or not. And remember... Apple will be the last to admit anything. And they just admitted they have a problem... a problem any streamer should have caught because every user out there did.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikhailT Avatar
61 months ago

mmm...how about: Apple does not make any external monitors at all, so why support any resolution other than native for the macbook anyway??
https://www.apple.com/pro-display-xdr/
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)