To lean into the idea of "the pandemic changed things a lot more than we give it credit" I have seen a lot of folks realized (very suddenly!) that they needed to re-prioritize things in their lives and that work/money isn't the most important thing to them.

I don't think Apple et al. will have trouble finding talent, but they may have trouble attracting "the best and brightest" if they require that you go into an office.

Then again, maybe they don't want to hire people who will prioritize mental health and family over work. "Best and brightest" is often a thinly veiled way of saying "willing to over-work and sacrifice personal life for the bottom line".

I think that's totally correct. Anecdotally, I absolutely see people saying that maybe the $300K SV salary isn't worth it.

A $300K salary in the context of $5 million-dollar houses makes much less sense if you can be happy and less stressed with an $80K salary with $150K houses.

Especially when that $5 million dollar house is actually a 750 sq ft condo with no backyard.

Along with premium salaries comes high standards for being hired. Pretty much all large tech companies are constantly hiring employees as long as they meet their high standards. If there is a general shift to remote work and Apple refuses to budge then they will have to make do with less people, raise compensation beyond what it already is, or lower their standards.

The salary may not be premium when comp-vs-cost is factored in.

eg: a 10h weekly commute better be worth at least $75k USD

I'm willing to bet that the majority of people with one hour each-way commutes don't earn $75K total.

Sure, but will they be able to find people worth those salaries?