I don't know how old you are, but even today, your average <14 year old doesn't get excited by new phone releases.
You are rewriting history. It's like saying before jet planes there was nothing exciting in aviation.
I wasn't the average 14 year old. And you can claim to know what I thought in the past but you are so wrong. My family had the latest cellphones/car phones since the 80's. I am very familiar with the Startac, the Nokia brick and all the garbage phone companies put out like the v60/66 and the RAZR. I always believed the companies lacked innovation and it was 100% true. If you knew anything about tech at the time, you'd know that phone tech was severely deficient in the 2000's.
But I agree that there's not much excitement nowadays.
The history of cell phones-
Early 90's- Wow cell phones are so convenient! You can make phone calls from anywhere!
Mid 90's through mid-2007- You can still make phone calls from anywhere!
Mid-2007 through 2012- Wow you can play music, watch movies, browse the web in a normal browser, play unreal games, download powerful apps, take amazing pictures that replace point and shoot cameras, enjoy humongous multi-touch displays!
2013 until the present- Okay you've made it slimmer, a little more powerful, a better camera, and the battery a bit better, but what makes this so much better than the previous iPhone/Galaxy/Moto etc?