Their hardware is pretty good, but my overall impression (as a mainly Apple user for 30 years) is just that the experience sucks less. I don’t actually know, b

Their hardware is pretty good, but my overall impression (as a mainly Apple user for 30 years) is just that the experience sucks less. I don’t actually know, but my impression is that they work harder “under the hood” than on the user facing stuff (which ironically is what I want. But in applications and user interfaces, in many cases they have simply lost their way. But the physical quality from, as you say, the box to the device does feel like it improves the quality, making up in part for indifferent software. The double irony here is that I can afford to buy expensive goods, but I won’t buy a Prada pullover any more because the zippers are functionally poor. Apple provides a luxurious experience (a nice box with a lovely watch inside) at a cost that a supermarket worker can afford.