The display role isn’t only for iMacs. Any Mac with macOS 12.3 Monterey or later can be the display, with Intel or Apple silicon: a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro from early 2015 on, for example.

Set it up

  1. Open Second Display on the MacBook and choose Use this Mac as a display.

  2. Connect the two Macs with a Thunderbolt cable, or put them on the same Wi‑Fi or Ethernet network.

  3. Follow the steps on the Mac you work on. Set up Second Display on both Macs

Over a Thunderbolt cable the picture can be lossless, at Highest quality; over Wi‑Fi, Ethernet or a USB‑C cable without Thunderbolt it’s compressed to suit the connection. We haven’t measured yet how smoothly older and Intel Macs show the lossless picture; the speed test recommends the quality your two Macs can keep up. The Mac you work on can use several displays at once, each with its own quality. Use several displays

On battery

  • While it waits for your Mac, a MacBook on battery sleeps as usual.
  • While it shows a picture, both Macs stay awake, on battery too.
  • If the display Mac goes to sleep, for example when you close its lid, the connection ends. The Mac you work on connects again when it wakes. Sleep, wake and the lock screen