My old gas dryer from the 60s was awesome. I had to fix it a few times, but could make the repair for like 6 bucks with rings or a replacement gas fitting. To use it, you turned the mechanical knob until the arrow pointed at the proper setting, set the temperature knob, and pushed start.

We eventually had to replace it when we moved to a house without gas service. The newer one has to be repaired like every 2 years and requires a $400 motherboard replacement. To operate it, you turn a knob with a digital connection to a motherboard to turn on the correct light in the array around the knob for the proper setting, set the temperature setting in a separate menu, and hit "start."

So the only functional difference was replacing a rock-solid mechanical system that lasted over 50 years with a digital system that doesn't last 3.