Do you all think the migration to subscriptions is a result of things simply reaching the point of "good enough"? TBH, for the average user, MS Office hasn't added any particularly valuable features in twenty years. PCs peaked IMO with Windows 7. Smartphones haven't made any significant leaps in 4-5 years. The same applies to all sorts of professional software as well--anything Adobe (Photoshop, Premier, etc) or Autodesk (all types and manner of CAD). I'd argue that the auto industry is similar in a lot of ways--I drive a 23-year-old car, and the only modern thing I wish it had is an AUX jack or bluetooth (which I could do for $20, but I'm too cheap). In general, it just seems like most non-consumable purchases have reached the point where people no longer feel the need to upgrade nearly as often, so companies see a threat to their income.
Now, I'll grant that subscriptions to streaming services might be an exception--you get access to a lot more content per dollar than you could with renting (but not cheaper than borrowing it from the library!). Whether that's a valuable use of your time (a separate, very limited commodity) is a whole other question :)