It’s also been great to see new affordable entry-level equipment become available. I had a friend finally get an espresso machine a few months ago, and I was able to point him to the Fellow Opus, which is only $195 ( and was on sale for $150).
To your point on “When to invest?” - there are certainly things this grinder could do better, but he has yet to hit a real problem in his coffee making. So sure, an $800 grinder might have fewer fines or more micro-adjustments, but that’s not really offering any value to him at the moment.