I moved from Windows to macOS for work — and I never want to go back
macOS for work, Windows for play
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Even before reading the article, I can already guessed that the author uses only the laptop's screen for work. I tried MacOS for 6 months, really liked that I can ultilize many of Linux commands that I only used to manage servers. But using multiple monitors is such a pain with MacOS that I can never understand how people put up with it. I then slowly understand why people keep saying "I can't see you or if you raised your hand" during meetings, it's because they use only one single screen.
I do think MacOS will have a huge advantage over Windows and Linux if they overhaul the window system. However, seeing how "holding it wrong" consistently coming up in discussion, I don't see any chance soon, if ever.
What's wrong with multiple monitors with macOS?
There are maybe many more (maybe no window snapping like windows if you count that), but those are the issues that I noticed.
You are saying absolute shit
M1 supports one external 4K display on laptop, two on the mini
M1 Pro supports 2 external 6K displays on laptop, 3 on the mini
You can extend any M1 Capability with an external hub.
Furthermore, you are comparing Linux (an Operating System) to the M1 (hardware). That’s stupid.
M1 supports one external 4K display on laptop, two on the mini
Yea, they key here being 4K. Try connecting 1080p or 1440p which normal people tend to have around and you get terrible scaling.
I am a diehard Apple fanboy and don’t see any viable alternative for any of their main product lines. But their multi monitor performance is comically bad: I have Thunderbolt docks and two monitors work fine through that from a technical perspective. Though dragging windows between monitors is not seamless and macOS even rubs it in your face with some quirky UI hints when you are “leaving” one monitor and enter another like it’s the 90s. Icons and real life data in the menu bar have had scaling issues for a decade now on the screen you are not currently active on with a window (but can still see in real life, because eyes). There is an old desktop wallpaper saved somewhere from when I first connected the monitors that stays on the second one (the first monitor has my normal wallpaper). I know I can change this independently, but why?! When opening monitor settings you can adjust things like refresh rate or color profile independently, which is nice, but each window for adjustments opens on the screen it is adjusting. Apple’s whole multi monitor experience feels clunky and dated and hasn’t been getting any improvements for years, which tells me, nobody at Apple uses multiple screens.
Not ideal but the volume control can be fixed using monitor control: https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl
And there are many third party implementations of snapping like magnets.
I was referring to behavior of desktop environment behavior and not MacOS support for external monitor. In fact, I remember that MacOS was way ahead of Windows in supporting screens with different pixel density. And text rendering, especially text rendering.
Lol, is that a joke ???
I use Linux and MacOS. The scaling tools on Linux are the absolute worst. I have a 15 inch 1080p laptop plugged to a 24 inch display and this is a fucking nightmare to make the two working correctly. Whatever the distribution or the GNU, being Gnome, XFCE, Wayland, Sway. Arch or Debian based…
On the other hand I got a 14 inch MBP connected to 2 UltraFine 24 and an 2560x1080 monitor with absolutely zero issue.
I can adapt every single definition on every single screen, and the system remembers the def I set when plugging/unplugging.
MacOS external screen management tools is the best I’ve ever seen.
Your comment shows that you know absolutely nothing about macOS
My main PC is a 4k and 1080p monitor, running Plasma Wayland. Using 150% scaling and 100% on the other so pretty much the worst combination you can have in terms of monitor jank (mixed scaling together with fractional scaling). Functionality wise it's completely fine, there are some graphical bugs though. Mixed-DPI scaling used to be impossible on X11 but that's because it's old and not designed with that in mind at all. IIRC sway also worked well for me with that setup. What problems did you have?
Multi-monitor on macOS is fine for my purposes too though. I was actually blown away by how well Continuity display works with my iPad.
Your comment shows that you know absolutely nothing about macOS
I think this is the biggest problem with Apple: you're holding it wrong. Apple cannot be wrong and there can never be any discussion about how to approach a problem, let alone address it. There can't never be a problem, and that's what's wrong with MacOS.
Oh there are some issues with macOS, especially for a long time user like me who’ve witnessed the disappearance of some features for the sake of user friendliness. But the one suggested in that comment? Just plain ignorance.
And to be fair, that’s exactly the problem with the vast majority of Apple haters who just don’t know shit about the subject.
Thank you being an example of the problem I was referring to. Appreciate your help complimenting my point.
What's an example of something that works better with Windows multiple monitor support over macOS?
Linux I totally get. I love how Linux window managers make it easy to give each monitor its own separate virtual desktops. I tend to have one monitor that's fixed and another that I change between tasks.
Taskbar that I can configure to either displayed on the monitor that the window is displayed, only in the main desktop or both.
Hover over taskbar icon with multiple windows to see thumbnails.
Predictable minimize/maximize behavior. I don't quite like the idea of window fitting the content but to each's own taste but I can't stand the random fullscreen that some app do on MacOS.
Making use of maximize button to display snapping options on Windows 11 is also very convenient.