It is possible to run up to six external displays from the M1 Mac mini, and five external displays from the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, with the aid of DisplayLink adapters, according to YouTuber Ruslan Tulupov. This far exceeds Apple’s specified limits on external displays with the M1 Macs.
Apple’s host of new M1 Macs are not capable of supporting as many external displays as their Intel-based predecessors by default. The previous Intel-based MacBook Air could run one external 6K or 5K display or up to two external 4K displays, and the previous Intel-based MacBook Procould run one external 5K display or up to two external 4K displays. The 2018 Intel-based Mac mini could run up to three 4K displays, or one 5K and one 4K display.
Apple says that the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro can run one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. The M1 Mac mini can run one display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0. This means that each new M1 Mac can run one less display than the model it replaced.
However, Tulupov has discovered that it is possible to run as many as six external displays from the M1 Mac mini, and five external displays from the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, using a workaround. This is achieved using DisplayLink adapters to drive the additional displays. When the M1 Mac’s ports have been filled, DisplayPort adapters have to be connected via an external dock to provide more ports.
Read more at MacRumors.com