I’ve been purchasing Apple products for about 22 years. If anything, quality, durability, and product lifetime have gotten better. Apple is f-ing amazing when it comes to managing their supply chain these day, and I think a lot of that is Tim Cook.
Apple used to always deliver products late and with problems in the 1980s and 1990s. Look at the number of iPhone, iPads, Apple Watches, AirPods, etc. that they deliver every year like clockwork. The scale of that, and the high quality in general, is just mind boggling and an underappreciated achievement.
I wear my Apple Watch stainless all the time aside when charging. I swap the face and band (Milanese or a wood and metal link band) for fancier occasions.