And for every article like this, there's another article explaining how Apple got big because they insisted on perfection.
Avoiding the fallacy just means you compare the costs of reaching "perfection" from your current position to the value of reaching perfection. The cost you ignore is the cost you've spent to reach your current position, because that cost was incurred regardless of your decisions now.
"Everything you own, all the clothing in your closet, your academic achievements and beyond is simply a gift. It is a gift that your past self is giving to your present self, and it’s up to you to decide whether you want that gift today.
It is as simple as that–you owe your past self nothing, other than the consideration of whether these gifts are helpful in the here and now."
I use this way of framing business decisions a lot nowadays. It's a very effective way of removing the emotional baggage that sunk costs come with, and focus on the actual goals you should be achieving.
But that quote you posted is something worth remembering.
They always strive for elegance and perfection but routinely compromised
https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/11-worst-apple-prod...
The truth is, in hindsight, you can make history and success/failure stories look like the result of anything you want if you think abstractly enough.