I started with waste, that probably seems unusual. Many people are not worried about waste, they are worried about value. Value, however, is subjective; waste is much more objective.
Since it's difficult to identify subjective value, usually you can just take for granted that if you have any users or customers, they are getting some value out of your product or service.
And, just like how for the most part people prefer the same good/service for cheaper, they also prefer less waste.
There are of course exceptions to the idea that all customers would prefer the same good/service for cheaper, namely when credibility, exclusivity, or other aspects of luxury goods are involved.
Even in those cases though, the producers of such goods would prefer a lower cost to deliver the same value. Lower cost can be achieved with less waste.
Value is closer to the customer
The other thing to keep in mind is that value is closer to the customer. This is why seemingly pointless things actually matter a lot. A really nice hotel room can be made to feel cheap with shitty door handle.
If people touch some aspect of your product it's more valuable than aspects they merely see. Aspects they see are more valuable than aspects they know about. Aspects they know about are more valuable than aspects they don't.
This is important to keep in mind when making any product or service, if you have to optimize something, improve the closest thing to the customer first.
I'm no apple fanboy, but they are almost perfect at this. The way their hardware feels is so nice, and even similar premium hardware doesn't quite nail it. The way their products look is nice. In my opinion, XCode is pretty terrible.
The experience of making an app for Apple is not great. But, that's not what they are optimizing. They are putting their skillpoints into what's valuable to customers, as in what's closest to them.