To be honest I really kept away from that old Mac interface for years. When they switched to a cleaner and flatter design, I literally went "now I want to jump on Apple ecosystem". Same for iOS 7 update.
They weren't the only or primary reasons but they had significant role. I personally love the new flat interfaces MUCH more TBH.
I couldn't really stand the tiger-era MacOS either; but early iOS and *MacOS Snow Leopard* we're the pinnacle of UI/UX for me.
I still remember the high pixel density of the devices being shown off so well with the crisp rendition of paper and leather. The way it felt like it was popping off the screen.
Back then I had really good eyesight (I was 20-22~) and those UI elements sold me on the quality of the hardware.
That, and it was much smoother in it's animations than android/windows/compiz.
All of them were the right choice for their time though. Especially early iPhone and its skeuomorphic design taught (practically) the whole world how to use a touch interface with buttons, lists etc. and it looked great for the time. Similar for old Macs too. Then flat design, IMO, cleaned up the general UI after teaching it.
Absolutely. It feels like playing battlefield. Just like you do not see the soldiers in that game, you don't know where the buttons or clickable things are. Does this page when scroll? Who knows. Maybe it does.
They weren't the only or primary reasons but they had significant role. I personally love the new flat interfaces MUCH more TBH.