Yes…you have to keep trying, we all have to keep trying. It might not be this go-around, or the next, or the tenth. I don’t know the magic bullet, or I would tell you. When I ask “does the customer care” its because those intentional design choices have a way of finding themselves on the bottom line of profitability, and many times its a matter of cents that make these projects actually go to market or not. But when you feel strongly about something, you have to keep pushing and trying to find a way to make it happen.
In 1995 I did a school project on a completely modular music system, where individual components (CD transport, tray, PCB, power supply) were individual parts. It made the most sense to me at the time. Fast forward 20 years and CE companies are still investigating projects like this (Google Aura).
One day we will figure it out.