I saw a talk with a similar thesis once (don't remember who by, unfortunately, it was at least a decade ago). He was arguing that we're hard-wired for cuteness

I saw a talk with a similar thesis once (don't remember who by, unfortunately, it was at least a decade ago). He was arguing that we're hard-wired for cuteness to appeal to us, and just as Bratz replace Barbie, cute tech will replace regular tech. If you want your tech to be successful, explore neoteny.