How old are we talking about? My microwave is exactly like that, and it is about 15 years old if not more.
And I am happy with it. Pretty much prefer it to using buttons.
Just rotate it to about 30, done.
It also has the instant 30s button which my wife seems to prefer to the rotating input.
QS-QS-QS-QS-Start
2-0-0-Start
"Cumbersome"?
But that's not the point, it's usually not pleasant to find and press the buttons on the microwaves machine. Mashing the corner button a bunch of times is a nicer experience.
If it weren't the start button doing double duty as "+30 seconds", I would put my microwave in a more accessible location - space I rather put other stuff in.
Has no place in a dishwasher.
> and in the near future, arms for self loading and unloading
Pure fantasy for now; if it's ever not pure fantasy, go ahead and replace the dishwasher, I suppose?
> Older microwaves have a cumbersome enter time, hit start procedure. Newer microwaves also have a "quick start" button for 30 seconds which you can just press four times to get it to go for two minutes, or enter the time if you need it to go for a while.
... I'm 40, and every digital-control microwave I have ever used has that 30 second quick start button. So, okay, maybe that was an advance in microwave UX in, like, the 80s, but it was apparently the last advance.
For example, the microwave. Older microwaves have a cumbersome enter time, hit start procedure. Newer microwaves also have a "quick start" button for 30 seconds which you can just press four times to get it to go for two minutes, or enter the time if you need it to go for a while. Hardly the stuff most people will replace a microwave for, but definitely a feature expected of newer microwaves.
As far as dishwashers, there are also styling changes to consider - the white plastic of the 80's looks dated now and a chrome front looks modern. who knows what 10 more years will bring, stylistically? You may not be stylish, but for some, that's their bread and butter.