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I have MBP M1pro 14''. I want to buy external keyboard, monitor 144Hz and magic trackpad 3 (It is black color and I am not sure, but I assume it is third generation).

I have read that polling rate of the new Magic Trackpad is 90 Hz.

I want to buy 144Hz external monitor. Will there be a noticeable delay on the screen? How do people with 144 monitors deal with delay if there is any?

They just getting used to the uncomfortable work or to get rid of delay they manually lower the display refresh rate of external monitor to 90Hz in the settings?

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I personally own an M1 MacBook Air (60hz display), an M2 MacBook Pro (120hz), a Dell 4K 60Hz display, a Neo G9 (240Hz), and a new Magic Trackpad. From my experience, I'm pretty sure there's a significant lag while using Magic Trackpad 2/3 on any screens higher than 90hz, also be annoyed by it.

There was a time when most of the screens were 60hz, true. However high refresh rate screens have become more common these days, even Apple itself brought 120Hz to iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, etc. (btw the new MBP onboard trackpad's polling rate is higher than 120Hz, and smooth as hell...)

Apple should really update the Magic Trackpad lineup to match the trend. The limitation of the polling rate via Bluetooth is 125Hz, and the first-generation Magic Trackpad is 125Hz. I don't know why Apple downgraded to 90Hz in 2/3 gen, maybe for longer battery life. But I totally will sacrifice some battery life to increase the smoothness.

Conclusion: Yes, you will notice the lag using Magic Trackpad on a high refresh rate screen. But the Trackpad is far more useful on a Mac than a mouse, for all the hand gestures you can do. That's why I'm still enduring the pain of lag and using the Trackpad, hoping Apple will update the Magic Trackpad one day.

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  • For the reason why polling rate matter, here's a profound elaboration in this article: blurbusters.com/faq/mouse-guide
    – n0pimhd
    Commented Sep 11, 2023 at 3:15
  • I have been connect my Magic Trackpad 2 with a USB/lighting cable, it seems improved a little on my 144hz screen. (maybe it is all psychologic) LOL
    – CharlesC
    Commented Jul 5 at 18:39
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No, there will be no noticeable delay.

Firstly, there's no direct connection between these two things. The pointer will update its position at a rate of 90Hz; but the screen will be redrawn every 144Hz.

Secondly: how quickly can you see things?

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  • Plus, the screen's actual fps, also unrelated to refresh rate, can be anything from 1 to refresh rate or even higher, depending what needs to be drawn at the time [mine is 60Hz as most screens are.] eg i.sstatic.net/nsLyZ.png vs i.sstatic.net/PiEnQ.png
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 8:31

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