New 15″ MacBook Pro supports four 4K or two 5K displays simultaneously, 13” more limited

If you like to run multiple external displays at the same time, then you’re going to love the new MacBook Pros. The 15″ MacBook Pro supports a whopping four external 4K displays at the same time. If you prefer to use 5K displays, you’ll be happy to know that the 15″ MacBook Pro supports dual simultaneously 5K displays.

This is all made possible by the high bandwidth provided by the machine’s Thunderbolt 3 ports, which feature DisplayPort interface support. The 15″ MacBook Pro and the 13″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar both feature four USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3.

The 15″ MacBook Pro is capable of driving more displays than the 13″ version, which likely stems from the fact that the 13″ version relies on an integrated Intel Iris GPU, while the 15″ MacBook Pros all ship with discrete graphics provided by AMD.

A look at the 13″ MacBook Pro’s external display support

Ultra High resolution displays can be a great investment, especially for creatives. Conveniently, Apple worked together with LG to produce a 4K and 5K display. These displays, which will be available later this year, will sell for $699.95 and $1,299.95 respectively. 4K displays are fairly easy to come by, but 5K displays are still rare, so it’s nice to see another option besides Dell’s 5K display.

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Of course, any 4K or 5K display should work well with Apple’s new machines, especially one like LG’s 27″ 4K display with built in USB-C (read our hands-on walkthrough). But even if your favorite 4K display doesn’t come equipped with USB-C, you’ll can use an adapter or a dock to connect via HDMI or other means.

The important thing to note here is that this is simultaneously support for the full native resolution of the built-in display, in addition to the external displays. All external displays running at 4K or 5K resolution run at a silky smooth 60 Hz. This means that you won’t have to worry about being stuck at a choppy refresh rate like was the case with the 2016 12″ MacBook. It’s yet another reason why you should consider the entry-level 13″ MacBook Pro over the 12″ MacBook.

If you like to use external displays with your MacBook Pro, then you can rest easy knowing that your new purchase will be able to handle everything but perhaps the most extreme setups. If you want to learn more about 4K and 5K displays, then be sure to check our Jordan’s look into what’s available.