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Comment by zippergz | Hacker News Reader

"Everyone" does not use 2 or 3 monitors. Certainly among the software engineers I interact with regularly (at top US tech companies), having multiple monitors is the minority, not the majority.

I agree with the parent that any setup that requires me to turn my head to see all of my screen space is a downgrade, not an upgrade. Even a monitor that's too big (above 30 inches or so at normal desk viewing distance) is bad.

If you like it, go for it, but don't act like it's the only or even most common way to work, even for developers.

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I've worked at two out of the FAANG companies and many others. Never seen a workspace in the last decade that didn't either have a laptop and external monitor or multiple monitors.

And there has been quite a bit of research [1] on them with 98% of users preferring dual monitors.

[1] https://www.ie-uk.com/blog/how-multiple-monitors-affects-pro...

> Never seen a workspace in the last decade that didn't either have a laptop and external monitor or multiple monitors.

I've never seen anyone using "a laptop and an external monitor" who actually uses the laptop screen. (Where by "use" I mean "looks at it." They might have it on, but it's usually just idle at the desktop.)

Personally, I plug my laptop into a monitor and then put it, closed, onto a little stand for ventilation. (One of these things: https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HP9X2ZM/A/twelve-south...).

Really? I found this so shocking I just got up and checked and around here 7 out of 11 people have their laptop screen in use.

I use it as a screen for my slack/discord/email and have my two main screens above it. It's true I use my two main screens more, but if I didn't have my laptop I'd want a small third screen to replace it.

I'm with derefr, once I connect up to an external monitor, or two, or three, I close my laptop and put it in a stand. I never use it an extra monitor either.

Have you considered the ergonomics of doing this? I do know a few people who put their laptop up on a pedestal mount so it's in line with their external monitors, which is fine. (These people generally got the largest display-size laptop they could afford, so it makes sense for them.)

But if you have your laptop sitting directly on the desk — presumably because you use its keyboard to type? — then any time you look at its screen, you're straining your neck. There's a reason monitors are on stands that hold them up 8+ inches above the desk — it's so it doesn't hurt to stare at them all day.

I'm not a software engineer or anything like that and I still have three screens including a laptop screen at my desk. Almost everyone at the small NPO I work for have at least 2 monitors including the likes of finance, customer service officers, etc. When I visit other offices it's not unusual to see 2 or even 3 monitor setups. This is common even at government agencies. This may be specific to New Zealand however and not the same elsewhere in the world however I'm sure Australia is in the same boat going by what I've heard from my Australian friends. YMMV. Will be watching this Apple innovation with interest.

Interesting - at the Google office I work at, the vast majority of developers use at least 2 monitors, sometimes 2 monitors + a laptop screen.

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