I’m one of two programmers on my team (20~) who use just a laptop (15 inches) - no monitor or docking station. I dislike the docking and undocking experience. At work I often find myself moving to another area to solve a problem with a teammate or just for a change of scenery. Every time I see my coworkers come back to their desk they have to fiddle with the cables and wait five minutes for something to come out of sleep mode.
Ironically, I am looking to upgrade to an iMac later this year for personal use and keep my 2015 MacBook Pro for when I travel or go outside. At home I would prefer to have a single, comfortable place where I do all my computing. The bigger screen is a nice bonus.
I’m likely an outlier, but I love my LG 29" (29" is the diagonal, but it’s height is only about 12" tall and width 27" (21:9). To me it’s a perfect compromise.
Then they should check their setup. At work, I am forced to use a Windows laptop and since I have two offices, I have an ideantical setup (dual monitors, docking station, keyboard, mouse) at both. I just stick the laptop into the docking station and in seconds it’s running.
I also use an MBP and at home I just attach power+thunderbolt+USB and that’s it. 10 seconds.
As for monitor usage: really depends on what you are doing.
For photo editing: I have an external monitor to accurately check the colors. Color accuracy is more important than resolution/size. And a high-resolution, huge monitor that is also color accurate is VERY expensive. So, no 4K for me yet.
For writing: laptop screen is more that enough, I dislike distractions.
For office stuff: dual monitors. I constantly need several documents open at the same time.
I use a 27" iMac with an external 27" display. I am 68 so might be a candidate for difficulty moving neck. But I have NO problem using two large displays. If $ and space were not a consideration I would probably have three 27" displays. I never have really bought the idea that moving one’s head a few degrees was a big deal.
Why all the real estate? To see lots of information. When I am working on my computer creating “things” I need lots of references. At my age, my short-term memory is poorer than it was and I like not having to remember little bits of info as I work towards some goal. Even something as mundane as planning a trip, it is nice to have information about car rentals, hotels, plane fares, tours all displayed at once.
When I am simply reading a book or a newspaper or a magazine, I use my 12.9" iPad propped up on a table. I am not adverse to using a Kindle if I need something really portable, but that is not my first choice.
I like big screens that show more info. I would like to buy an apple watch that was twice as big along the long axis of the arm as the current models. For old folks, big text is easier to see and it is nice to be able to avoid pulling out reading glasses to read some watch complication.
And I am old enough not to care about fashion much over function (sorry Angela A.)
And I would buy a 16" iPad if Apple offered it.