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How do I find out the number, type, resolution & refresh rate of additional monitors I can attach to my MacBook or MacBook Pro?

This is an attempt at a canonical QA, as per the Meta QA -
Where is the list of canonical questions stored for Ask Different? to try prevent the myriad "same but different" questions we get on every possible combination of computers, cable & monitors
There are perfectly good resources out there that Ask Different should not have to duplicate the efforts of.

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This may not be the only available resource on this topic, but it is a comprehensive & reliable one...

EveryMac, as the name suggests, has information on every Mac model ever made [also iPhones, iPads, iPods], including but not limited to the number of external displays supported & their maximum specification.

If you are not absolutely certain which model you have from  Menu > About this Mac, then they have a search engine which can identify from many data types, serial number, part number etc, the

Ultimate Mac Lookup

Lookup Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads by Apple Order Number, Model Number, EMC Number, Model Identifier, Serial Number and Intel processor number.

This is an example of the data they provide for the current 2018 Core i9 15"

enter image description here

I have no affiliation to EveryMac, their partners, advertisers or sponsors.

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    Thanks for pointing me to this page and thanks for trying to make this a canonical QA, but unfortunately the official spec or this website's specs (which is just a bare copy of the official specs) are not reliable as my mid 2014 macbook pro can handle 4k while the spec says the maximum is 2560x1600: support.apple.com/kb/SP704
    – cahen
    Commented May 14, 2020 at 20:49
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@Tetsujin answer includes very good third party options. But I often find direct information is better instead of going to a third party.

So get information directly from Apple...

  1. Navigate to Apple's specs website

  2. Get the Model Identifier from Apple Logo > About This Mac > System Report > Hardware > Model Identifier

  3. Copy and paste that identifier into the search bar on the page form Step #1

  4. Click your product (should be the first one)

  5. Relevant Information can be be found in the following sections:

    • Display
    • Graphics
    • Video Support
    • Electrical and Operating Requirements

For example here is the "Video Support" sections for MacBookPro14,2:

Video Support

Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

  • One display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors

  • Up to two displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors

  • Up to two displays with 3840-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors

    Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

  • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C

  • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
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    Using the model identifier in the search no longer works, but you can just use the "human-readable" name as given by About This Mac instead (e.g., "MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)").
    – tjanson
    Commented Oct 27, 2020 at 14:03
  • With Monterey, one can also directly go to the technical specs of the MacBook or iMac she is using via Apple Logo -> About This Mac -> Resources -> Specifications. One can also find the user manual for that computer through Apple Logo -> About This Mac -> Resources -> User Manual.
    – Alper
    Commented Nov 15, 2021 at 12:02

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