For the past 5 years I've been using a 34" curved desktop monitor from Samsung, which I purchased to replace a dual ~24" display setup. Apart from its size, it was a pretty standard piece of office tech. It was big and bulky, taking up a disproportionate amount of desk space (I eventually had it mounted on a heavy-duty monitor arm). The resolution and refresh rate was pretty basic - but was certainly good enough, and with a decent amount of screen real-estate to play with.

As a developer that works remotely I spend my entire working life in front of a computer screen. Ergonomics is an important part of being able to work consistently throughout the day, and recently I have been finding the combination of working on a widescreen monitor with an adequate display increasingly uncomfortable.

So about a week ago I bit the bullet and picked up an Apple Studio Display. Apart from being a beautiful piece of industrial design - probably the best looking monitor on the market - I wanted something that would last me well into the future. The 5K Retina display and Thunderbolt connectivity gives me confidence that I won't be replacing it for a long time. I opted for the base model - standard glass and a tilt-adjustable stand.

I'll admit that despite my dissatisfaction with my existing widescreen display, I was a little concerned that at a time when monitors seem to be getting bigger and bigger, I might regret going smaller. But you know what? 27" is plenty big enough - especially for web development.

After about a week of use I'm now fully accustomed to the drop in screen real-estate. Ergonomically, moving from a curved widescreen back to a flat panel of more reasonable proportions is much more comfortable to use, and the 5K Retina display is much easier on the eyes. As an added bonus, my M4 iPad Pro looks fantastic when hooked up to it.

I never thought I would spend $2,500 (AUD) on a single monitor that is 'only' 27", but I am happy I did and would recommend it to anyone that is on the fence about picking one up.