Apple Products Don't Feel Like Day-One Buys Anymore

Is it just me, or have Apple's new product launches stopped feeling like day-one purchases?

For the past three years, almost every new category product seems to come with a catch:

1. Too expensive.
2. Missing an obvious feature.
3. A solution looking for a problem.

I can't remember the last Apple product I desperately wanted to buy on day one.

Maybe the Watch Ultra? The original AirPods?

Apple used to be exceptionally good at introducing products that felt inevitable in hindsight. They seemed to have an uncanny ability to recognise when technological breakthroughs and consumer demand were converging.

AirPods made wireless audio effortless.

Apple Watch brought health, notifications and connectivity together in a useful wearable.

Vision Pro is technically remarkable, but its everyday utility remains questionable relative to its price. I thought it would be a day-one purchase for me when I saw it revealed, but the price-to-utility ratio just didn't stack up.

The iPhone Air prioritises thinness at the expense of battery life and camera versatility.

These are impressive feats of engineering, but I'm struggling to see the same compelling reasons to own them.

Apple increasingly seems to be asking customers to accept compromises in exchange for novelty, rather than delivering something obviously better.