Failing eyesight - which display for software dev?

[lordlucan]

Okay,

I'm sure this has been discussed to death here in other threads, but I'm throwing this one out there because, as it will become apparent, I would struggle to find and read them.

I am a software developer looking to upgrade my trusty Thunderbolt display for working from home, however I've been thrown a curve-ball in the past 4 years, in that I'm gradually loosing my eyesight to a condition that ensures everything I look at (text, graphics, everything else in the room!) has a massive amount of glare around it. Think of it like the bloom you used to get when you turned a CRT display up waaay too bright.

As I can't just pop out to the local apple store and check these displays out, I was hoping that those of you that have seen or owned these displays could help give me some feedback on how they perform. Cost isn't the primary driver, as the choice is between packing up at lunchtime with a migraine or being able to carry on working until the end of the day.

What I am looking for is:

a) Low reflectivity (everything is running in dark mode)
b) High contrast (at a pixel level for text - if XDR blooms significantly it might not help)
c) High PPI (pretty much all options nowadays)
d) Auto brightness adjustment (optional but highly preferable)

The key thing is that the text needs to be crisp with high contrast around the glyphs.

Obviously (a) and (b) might be somewhat mutually exclusive, as most matt displays also diffuse the text and contrast (I've not seen the nano coating yet).

The options I'm considering are LG Ultrafine 5k, Pro Display XDR (normal glass), Pro Display XDR (nano glass). I've seen the LG in person, albeit in the loony bright setup of the Apple Store, but not the XDR displays. Of particular interest is how the nano XDR coating performs for text.

 

[MacGizmo]

Unfortunately, I don't see how you can make a good decision for yourself without actually seeing the displays in person. So much of what you need is subjective.

Obviously, the glass displays are going to give you reflectivity, so a matte display is better in that respect - but then the text and graphics aren't going to be as crisp/sharp. Pretty much all displays will allow you to adjust the contrast and brightness—either in the hardware or via the custom profile capability built-in to the Mac's Display Preferences. And any HD display is going to have a high PPI, though few will be as high as the LG Ultrafine displays.

The XDR display with nano coating is amazing. It really does cut the reflections down to virtually nothing, and the brightness is unrivaled. But it's way overkill for you. That display is meant for high-end video editors and 3D rendering.

I will say that Dell Ultrasharp displays are excellent, both in build and panel quality. But I'm not sure if they still sell matte finish Ultrasharp models anymore.

Best of luck in your search, I hope you find what you're looking for.