Apple Engineers Allegedly Able to Use Vision Pro With Two Mac Displays

Apple's new Vision Pro headset can serve as an external display for a Mac, letting you view and control your computer's screen in a visionOS window. The feature can currently be used with only a single Mac display, but analyst Ben Thompson today suggested that Apple has internally tested the ability to use multiple displays.

Apple Vision Pro Mac Virtual Display
"I have heard through the grapevine that Vision Pro users at Apple headquarters can project two Mac screens," said Thompson, in his review of the headset.

Apple engineers have access to future visionOS versions, and feature flags that enable extra functionality, so this revelation is certainly believable. However, it's unclear if Apple plans to let the public use the feature with multiple displays.

For now, if your Mac has external displays connected to it, the Vision Pro only shows the main display that you have set in the Mac's System Settings app. While the Vision Pro is showing a Mac's display, the computer's built-in display and any external monitors that are connected to it appear black and cannot be used during that time.

The feature is compatible with any Mac running macOS Sonoma, but the maximum display resolution is limited to 3K for Intel-based Macs.

Related Roundups: Apple Vision Pro, visionOS 2
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Two of Apple's Oldest Products Are Finally Getting Updated This Year

Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products. Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year. Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2. HomePod mini 2 In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...

Top Rated Comments

mrat93 Avatar
14 months ago

How is that news? Even my crappy quest 2 can 3 monitors
It’s news because it’s not available on AVP currently. This article is about AVP, not Quest.

I mean I get your point — but what — should MR not report on any features coming to AVP which exist on other platforms?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ashwee Avatar
14 months ago
Windows/apps don't need to be constrained to a boxed display/window at all, especially with spatial computing. Let Mac apps and windows roam free like all other VisionPro apps. Either that or just allow resizable aspect ratios.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ovrlrd Avatar
14 months ago
Can’t wait for Apple to call this a new feature in the 2nd gen AVP. “Thanks to more powerful m3 processing”
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uecker87 Avatar
14 months ago
The second display is going to be locked behind a $1,000 paywall, duh. I am just kidding - I hope.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zahuh Avatar
14 months ago
Isn’t this what everyone wants? Separate Mac windows

[MEDIA=twitter]1751251567641346340[/MEDIA]
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tobybrut Avatar
14 months ago

Why not just install a 3rd party app that lets you do just that or is that another restriction for no reason by Apple? I am using „immersed“ on Quest 3
As a retired former software engineer and based on things mentioned in the story, I would guess the reason is that Apple isn’t confident of the multi-monitor feature, whether it’s because of bugs or lack of system resources to allow for good performance. If it’s indeed running in Apple labs, it probably needs a ton of optimization.

Remember it’s still really early in that we can’t even arrange app icons on the “desktop” yet, a feature that will inevitably come to VisionOS. Or mouse support. There are probably a ton of features Apple simply hasn’t finished. Software managers would insist they have to ship something, so right now we have a very limited feature set. Time will tell. This is still very much a 1.0 (well, 1.0.2. Close enough). 1.0’s are rarely feature packed compared to what we get with a 2.0 or even a 1.5. I can mention quite a few bugs I’ve encountered that definitely need fixing before they get to new features.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)