While I agree that fancy packaging is a waste of resources and time I see one main thing driving it that the article hints at but doesn't go into, that this see

While I agree that fancy packaging is a waste of resources and time I see one main thing driving it that the article hints at but doesn't go into, that this seems like a case of pure Pavlovian conditioning. Every time you open a package you are greeted with something nice, a brand new thing you bought, a reward for opening the package. Thus the reward inside the packaging gets associated with the unboxing. I'd guess this is the primary reason people watch unboxing videos, it stimulates that reward circuit. Apple (and subsequently everyone else) taking advantage of this conditioning by making the packaging itself a small reward is smart, but evil.