As a software developer my experience is that switching from windows to macbook pro with an external screen (non mac) gives me everything I need and want.
But again, with all due respect, these testimonials can be misleading. Just because you are a software developer doesn’t make you a power user. NTopology or certain Autodesk stuff, macOS is not an option. The OP is using Windows specific applications. Heck look at NVIDIA. Need ECC for everything? Not going to find it on a Mac. I have used Apple since the IIe era, PCs since the XT era. I have even run SGI Octane and Irix when I needed specialized software…. I have built PCs from the 286 era and Hackintosh’s when that was a thing…
Macs are amazing and if you have not used one recently, for a lot of stuff, it’s a lot of performance for not a lot of money. Hands down, the Mac Mini M4 is a bargain. It’s cheaper than the Topping D90 used to go for. On the other hand, despite the amazing things that the Mac can do thanks to super large L2/L3 cache, there is definitely clear strengths of the PC platform.
I strongly recommend AGAINST the idea of buying a PC with the idea of upgradability. Yes, you can easily add memory, storage and even change GPUs and sometimes CPUs. The problem is that even though you may get a few upgrade cycles, even if it’s easy to upgrade the RAM, your CPU may be too slow, or there has been a change from DDR4 to DDR5 RAM, etc.
Macs are easier to trade in and resale compared to PCs, but both PCs and Macs march with progress so depreciation is high.
The best example I would give is buying iPhone XS with 512GB or an iPhone 13 with 1TB just for future proofing the risk of running out of storage. The reality is that you probably can upgrade your phone when it’s time to upgrade your storage.
It compiles speedily and gets out of the way to let you do your work the best you can.
In short it's just a joy to use.
I agree. But I find joy when using both my Macs and PCs…
The worst part is swapping between the CTRL-X/C/V versus “ALT/Command/⌘“ X/C/V for keyboard shortcuts. But it’s a little bit like being bilingual.
I am a fan of classic buckling spring keyboards and you can get them for Macs too: