But tt's not just the buttons -- it's also the motorized knob, sensors, and control logic.

A board with model-specific software and some garden-variety relays is cheaper to copy than model-specific motorized knobs are.

And it's not the singular key to profit, and I don't think that anyone ever said that it is. It's just a part that we can see, and touch.

There's other things that modernization helps with, too.

For instance: Variable-speed motor drives, with a computer brain to drive them (which we already have in the BOM once we abandon the motorized knob).

These can improve electrical efficiency (reducing motor size and cost), and deliver power more smoothly (reducing transmission size and cost).

That's real copper and real iron that is saved by using electronic controls.

(I can do washing machines all week.)