i finally switched for same reso Dell units on my desk and really happy about that.
There's also something to be said about the consistency of the old Apple displays. I've seen dozens at this point and none had noticeable backlight issues, and they look good right out of the box instead of requiring the user to switch off 15 gimmick settings to get a proper picture.
They had their issues but they did several things right.
It's a personal preference, however, so we let people at work make their own choices.
Apple displays have long been very high quality with accurate colors. They also usually come with a built in hub and ability to power a laptop, which is very handy. It allows the monitor to essentially be a dock.
No, it's more than the glare means no bloody anti-glare coating (and hence more sharpness), the colors (saturation etc) were often reviewed and measured best-in-class, and same for angles of view, brightness, etc.
Oh, and portrait mode, while nice, it's at best a niche use.
The problem is that Apple almost never lowers their prices unless they come out with a "new improved" model of something. So, as a given product continues to be sold without an update or a price drop, the more steadily outrageous its price point seems. To the point of the original linked article, this is a serious problem for the Mac Pro. It was expensive at introduction, but it's been downright absurd for the last two years. This is an issue across most of the Mac product line currently, though.
This would probably also work with other monitors via MCCS/DDC [1] but it seems to me that all operating systems just ignore it.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Control_Command_Set
At least that is the reasoning. They can complain to their local Apple Store to make it work.
Most end users have no clue, and they don't enjoy researching, so they don't know they could get something better for less money.
No, as a pro, my reasoning is they are great for photo/video work, and even affordable compared to competitive solutions (I mean at the time, they don't make them anymore, but the 5K iMac screens are excellent).
I just don't understand scrimping on something you will spend all day staring at. Getting something "almost as good" for half the price is a terrible deal.
I have never used an Apple monitor, but I have used several other 4k monitors and they are great. My Dell monitor is just fraught with compatibility issues and needs special software to work with win 7. I use Ubuntu and it barely works there, my coworkers have to treat theirs like special snowflakes.
Why are you still using windows 7?
On Ubuntu the monitor needed much finagling to get working right, unlike my AOC or Asus 4k monitors which both worked when hotplugged using HDMI.
My coworkers, who aren't all devs, have more work to do in windows and they needed the special software.
They also perform incredibly as monitors (or did, when they were newly updated). There's that too.