"It's not the brush, it's the painter."
Hmm,
I can get a lot more done (a lot faster) with an airless sprayer than an old paintbrush... and the finish will likely shine better.
It's only true up to a point.
If it's clunky to use the work will take longer and inspiration becomes drained.
However, a nice shiny paint brush handle doesn't mean the 'brush' is any better.
Making any software look better doesn't make it perform better; it takes real improvements to the whole UI/UX to be effective .. and that takes a bit of work.