The easiest way to hook up an external monitor or a TV to your MacBook would be to run an HDMI cable from either a monitor or TV directly to your Mac, but that’s usually only an option on the 20 Mac Pros, the Mac mini, or MacBook Pros from 2012 to 2015. Below, we’ll walk you through the most common options. On the other hand, the Apple ecosystem now lets you easily use newer iPads as secondary monitors within seconds, so it does bring clear advantages. You’re almost certainly going to need some kind of a dongle with a contemporary Mac. It’s usually a lot easier to hook up an external monitor to a PC rather than a Mac, as you can usually just use any ol’ HDMI cable. (Less wholesomely, you could work in one and watch a movie in another-but I didn’t say that.) An HDMI-compatible TV should do the trick if you don’t have an extra monitor sitting around, but the pixel density and refresh rates likely won’t be as satisfying.įirst off-here’s the bad news.
It can feel limiting, especially if you only have a MacBook.įortunately, you can drastically improve your productivity by hooking up an external monitor to your workstation, usually by using one display as a reference and doing your actual work in the other. If you worked at an office job before the coronavirus pandemic, there’s a good chance you’re now working from home.
