Because accustomization and normalizations removes the awe from what at first were amazing achievements. It’s the standard expectation creep effect. What’s novel or exciting today is boring tomorrow.

Try showing today’s phones to someone in 1994.

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As to the article’s example of headphones as an example of a product that has interesting variation - I am not getting the same impression.

The headphones all look essentially the same with a slightly different case style - in other words if those headphones are exciting then a phone can be made exciting by buying an artsy case. Problem solved.

Actually, personalized phone cases are way better than the manufactures providing a non-customizable case like the headphone cases to. Both are wrapping a tiny bit of visual style around a standard product. But for phones one can choose from an almost unlimited number of variations if one so chooses, for headphones it’s only a couple options per brand.