I agree with most of this and generally like Apple stuff, but...
The first touch point on a new Apple product is the box, and they use high end, thick cardboard that’s got a great finish.
...I can’t agree with this. Their boxes are bad! They’re probably really proud of their boxes and think they’re the best, and they do have a nice surface sheen, but they’re bad.
They’re too heavy, too hard to open, near impossible to break down to recycle.
Every time I mention this somebody says “that’s out of date, they’ve really improved recently”, but I’m still seeing the same shitty plastic-infused boxes.
Nintendo are great at doing amazing things with simple cardboard. But there are plenty of other companies doing this now. Apple is well behind the times.