On being disappointed (and disillusioned) by Polaroid's new camera

I'm fairly new to the instant film world (only a couple of years doing it), so don't take this opinion piece as gospel... Or do. What the hell do I care? This is my site, after all...

Here's what I do know: Fujifilm Instax cameras, the market leader when it comes to instant photography, are consistent and affordable. The cameras, while being as plastic as everything is these days, are well-made. You can pick up a model from 15 years ago here in Japan and fire off shots like the day it was unwrapped. They're affordable, which doesn't mean a lot, because you're going to spend the most on film. The film is extremely consistent, if not a little dull and cold at times (but I'm getting better!). Oh, did I mention the film is dirt cheap (in instant film terms)?

Sounds good, right? Then why, oh why, are we hung up on Polaroids? Because they're the originators? Because of nostalgia? Because of branding? Because of the film size? Because the colors are more saturated and warm? Because the vintage cameras have better optics? All of these reasons!

It's not because the film is printer-ink levels of expensive. It's not because you have to baby the film, taking space up in your refrigerator (thanks for understanding, honey). It's not because you can only shoot on days when the temperature is perfect. It's not because when you follow all of these precautions, the film still isn't consistent enough. 3 useable shots out of 8 is not a great ratio.

Yet we put up with all of this. And we follow Polaroid, watching and hoping for advancements. Modern cameras? Those are fine, but we'll keep fiddling around with our vintage models. A bluetooth speaker? Dafuq is going on...?

But a new modern camera with enough bells and whistles to make us 'pro-sumers' swoon? Yeah, who cares how much it costs? Put me down for two? What a second... What the hell is this?

"Sharpest-ever Polaroid lens..." Okay... Can it not be made of plastic? A digital display? Sure, I get that we're in that age... But if it has one button to interact with, how is that better than a dial? Well, the whole thing has a non-user-replaceable battery, so it's a 'serious camera' with a seriously short shelf-life (in the grand scheme of things). Did the film get better? Oh, no word on that? Yeah, this thing isn't so hot. It can take pretty Polaroids, but so can the SX-70 from 50 years ago.

Here's what bothers me most... "For the Imperfectionists..."

Come off of it. The most advanced Polaroid camera ever engineered, but please embrace all the shortcomings? Never heard Sony, Nikon, or Canon use that one.