Quad
Apple claims the Macbook Neo can do "4K60".

But I think that might actually specifically be a software limitation as well, not hardware. Apple seems to have limited display output on the Neo so the width can't be greater than 3840px (as in 3840x2160).

Connecting it to my Odyssey G9 with a native resolution of 5120x1440, it won't let me select the native res, even at 60Hz, despite it theoretically being less bandwidth than 4K60.

It will even let me do 3840x1080 @ 120Hz, but no 5120x1440 whatsoever.

Similarly the LG C2 in my living room accepts DCI 4K (4096x2160) in addition to the typical consumer 4K (3840x2160). But nope, when I connect the Neo to my C2, the only 4K option it gives me is 3840x2160.

I think the Macbook Neo actually has a hardcoded resolution limit along the lines of:
if( $displayWidth > 3840) {
refuse;
}

This might apply to 2160 vertically as well, but I don't have a display with a greater vertical resolution to test with.
Mar 18 at 5:51pmWeb
Show threadQuadMar 18
The laptop will output 3840x2160, but not 5120x1440, despite the latter requiring LESS bandwidth.

Instead my G9 caps out at 3840x1080 when connected to the Neo. It'll even do that at 120Hz just as the extra "fuck you" cherry on top.

If I use the Odyssey G9's OSD to limit the monitor to only use DP 1.2 and 60Hz, the Neo still refuses and caps out at the same 3840x1080.

Peak Apple
Show threadQuadMar 18
I have of course tested and verified that the same USB-C to DP cable and input on the monitor works fine with my T480 and lets me do 5120x1440
Show threadQuadMar 18
I have now had a nice chat and phone call with Apple support people. And after I he realized I knew how display bandwidth worked he was very blunt with me and simply admitted that 5120x1440 will not work on the Macbook Neo.

Although I was unable to get any explanation as of why, it seems that it's not something weird with my display, the Neo just doesn't do it. However the support agent did admit that the list of resolutions he had before him didn't contain anything with a width above 3840. So some hard limit on the 3840 width in either hardware or software is still my leading theory.

I will admit that Apple support was great though. Friendly people and didn't feel "fake friendly" like most tech support does.
Show threadQuadMar 18
And also, asking for support and getting a phone call for someone who isn't an underpaid indian only a minute or two after the appointment was made is much better than any other tech giant I've worked with. Just a guy with a bri'ish accent.

When I contact Microsoft through work I have to submit a ticket with my phone number, timezone and working hours, then they blatantly ignore the timezone and an indian calls me 9 hours later outside of my working hours anyways. And they never resolve the issue, we waste 20 minutes setting up a screen sharing session just so they can try the thing i already said doesn't work in the ticket, then go "oh, yeah this isn't how it's supposed to be" then I have to wait like a day or two before i get help from someone who can actually fix anything.

So I guess the profit margins apple pull must at least be going towards something.
Show threadIgnas KielaMar 18
@[email protected] I mean, could still be hardware, display engines might not be wired up for more than the consumer 4k in either dimension
Show threadQuadMar 18
@ignaloidas Could be I guess. Many weird things about this laptop since it reuses a phone chip.
Show threadIgnas KielaMar 18
@[email protected] I mean original apple silicon macs could only drive 2 displays, total, so I really wouldn't be surprised that it's HW side. Their display engines are very neat in that they can do a whole bunch of stuff (like, antialiasing the notch borders), but they're also expensive because of that
Show threadQuadMar 18
@ignaloidas iirc this was actually a problem on the original macs, but also a software limit.

They limited lower end models to one display only, although i dunno if that was a software limit. For resolutions like 5120x1440 you often had to employ tools like SwitchResX to get around it, that one was most definitely a software limit.

So to my knowledge, this wouldn't be the first time Apple slapped a software limit on a display output for the sole reason of "you didn't pay enough for us to let you do that, sorry"
Show threadWolf480plMar 18
@quad
I know it's a me problem, but when I saw "4K60", my first thought was "what kinda Soviet missile is this?"