Technology didn't have to glow (2018)

I don't understand this. The iPod shuffle was a subset of the iPod, which did glow, specifically meant to be cheap enough to buy for the few situations in which you'd listen to music without using the screen. Meanwhile iPods are the expensive option when it comes to mp3 players, with the shuffle being more expensive than even more feature rich systems. It's not hard to find a $30-40 mp3 player if you want it.

You can currently purchase fitbits with very limited screens, and modern smartwatches have an arguably larger feature set for exercising than older ones.

The Amazon Kindle (one of the e-readers he is pointing out) was still so set on advertising that you could get a discount if you promised to see ads on it whenever you used it, and indeed some versions included Mobile data connections so you can update those ads and buy new books wherever you are.

I'm confused at the examples the author has chosen