Plugable's Apple Silicon guide emphasizes that a Thunderbolt dock cannot exceed the host's native display support. Base M1 and M2 MacBooks, for example, do not gain additional native Thunderbolt displays merely by adding more dock outputs. Other processor variants and generations support different configurations.

Some higher-end layouts also require distributing displays across multiple computer ports rather than one dock connection. USB graphics is an alternative technology with its own software needs. Check the exact Mac documentation and intended connection map before standardizing a dock for users with different Apple Silicon models.