Question Macbook Noob Question

[olds]

I know nothing about Macs.
My daughter (11 hours away) has one (not sure which one yet) and would like to add two monitors, keyboard and mouse. I assume she needs a dock?
Any particular one that works well?
TIA

 

[TheStu]

This is an annoying answer...

If she has a MacBook Air, then she'll need a dock that supports 2 monitors over USB-C since the MacBook Air only officially supports 1 external display.

If it's the MacBook Pro, then she'll just need cables as she can direct connect the monitors to the machine (it supports a minimum of 2 external displays).

How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac

Get around Apple's annoying M1/M2/M3 Mac single-display limitation via software and adapters

www.macworld.com

 

[manly]

This is an annoying answer...

If she has a MacBook Air, then she'll need a dock that supports 2 monitors over USB-C since the MacBook Air only officially supports 1 external display.

If it's the MacBook Pro, then she'll just need cables as she can direct connect the monitors to the machine (it supports a minimum of 2 external displays).

How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac

Get around Apple's annoying M1/M2/M3 Mac single-display limitation via software and adapters

www.macworld.com

Unless it's a late Intel MBA, 2018/2019 supported dual external displays!

I can't recommend a basic USB-C dock because most of the product listings for the affordable dual HDMI ones claim limitations in macOS: the two external displays will simply be mirrored, which is dumb! I.e.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1PT5FVM/

Direct attached cables will work (for the models that can drive multiple external displays), but I think OP does want some sort of dock to also handle the input devices. Ideally one dock, but the good ThunderBolt docks for Mac creative pros are pricey!

 

[olds]

Thank you both.
She has a 2016 MacBook pro

 

[manly]

So some of the reviews are hit or miss, but this one can drive dual displays in extended mode:
OWC Thunderbolt Mini Dock

It looks almost identical to a CalDigit one that sells for $150.