Enlarge / Plugable claims its latest adapter lets you connect four monitors to Macs. (credit: Plugable )

Dock-maker Plugable says it has come up with a way to increase the number of external monitors M1- and M2-based Macs support. While Apple says Macs with these chips can support just one to two external monitors, Redmond, Washington-based Plugable's new USB-to-HDMI adapter claims to enable support for as many as four monitors.

According to Apple , the Mac Mini , which has Apple's M1 processor, can support up to two monitors. However, all other M1- and M2-based devices are limited to one external display.

Appearing to address this limitation, Plugable released its USB-C or USB 3.0 to Quad HDMI Adapter ( USBC-768H4 ) on Tuesday, saying it supports up to four monitors via HDMI, including for M1 and M2 Macs. The adapter requires you to use Windows 10 or macOS 11 and later.

Enlarge (credit: Anker/YouTube )

If you have an M1-based Mac, Apple says you're limited to just one external monitor. But Anker, which makes power banks, chargers, docks, and other accessories, this week released a dock that it says will boost your M1 Mac's max monitor count to three.

The 4250 Anker 563 USB-C docking station, spotted by MacRumors , connects to a USB-C port on your computer (which doesn't have to be a Mac) and can also charge a laptop at up to 100 W. Of course, you'll also have to plug in the dock's 180 W power adapter. Once connected, the dock adds the following ports to your setup:

• 2x HDMI (version not specified)
• 1x USB-C (3.1 Gen 1): charges devices at up to 30 W
• 1x USB-A (3.1 Gen 1): charges devices at up to 7.5 W
• 2x USB-A (2.0)
• 1x 3.5 mm headphone jack
• 1x Ethernet

Port selection. (credit: Anker )

You'll need the two HDMI ports and DisplayPort to add three monitors to an M1 MacBook. There are some notable limitations, though.