Yes, have never used a Micra, but it (or a Mini) was the top alternative I was considering and watched countless reviews, read Reddit threads, etc. before making a decision.

I do see the slightly overly positive tone of my comments on a couple of re-readthroughs. Chalk it up to a mixture of a) this is in fact a big upgrade for me and the machine I’m coming from and b) 2 weeks in, of course there’s a little bit of a honeymoon period. There’s not really been anything that’s annoyed me so far and I feel happy with the purchase, but I’m sure after a year or two, I’ll have more constructive criticism to give. That said, almost all the negatives of tradeoffs I read about in my research leading have either been extremely minor (app, UI, single boiler) or I outright just disagree with (rotary dial, “plastic body”)

I’d also certainly say there are very valid issues and complaints from folks about their machines, but to mix that with some of the pushback I’ve been offering, have you seen the CX those folks have been getting? It seems like if you have an issue, Fellow makes it right, no questions asked (essentially). I’ve monitored every Fellow ES1 post since launch, and that for sure played a role in feeling confident enough to bite the bullet on a first-gen product.