I agree that innovation is largely unnecessary, and nearly said as much in my initial post. I couldn't care less about Amazon, having switched from Kindle to Kobo (who seem to be doing OK with their resellers in this Walmartless environment, btw) a few months ago, but I do feel the basic point is valid regardless of the vendor.
I'm one of the niche that is very happy to have a simple e-ink reader (now a waterproof one) that just lets me read. I have no Alexa (another Amazon-specific element) or any other similar product in my home, and never will. I have an allergic aversion to audiobooks, so don't want my reader to offer me that functionality. My Kobo is working so well for me that I now spend a lot of time reminding friends that (a) e-ink is far and away the best for lengthy reading, and (b) Amazon is NOT the only game in town when it comes to e-ink readers. The Forma is a nice example of that, even though it's not for me.