It actually works very well with large screens. I use a Magic Trackpad with my 27" iMac.
> I feel the old ball type was superior in this regard, you could rely on momentum and just give it a flick for large and quick movements
That's exactly how the pointer works on macOS, both for traditional mouses and trackpads. That's what makes the Magic Trackpad work for a large screen for; I can do a little flick to move the pointer across the screen — and I can do it with just a finger, not my whole wrist/arm.
At work, I started off using a mouse for my multi-monitor setup, but quickly switched back to a Magic Trackpad. I think it scales rather well, because macOS provides a nice acceleration curve to cross the screen quickly while still allowing for precise movement.
Well, a macbook is also the biggest device it will work well on. It doesn't scale well to large monitors nor multi-display setups, in my opinion.
I feel the old ball type was superior in this regard, you could rely on momentum and just give it a flick for large and quick movements.
Not as beginner friendly though.