Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a huge investment in software and hardware for an almost non-existent user base. Most current DSLRs already have Wifi or a Wifi option; those that don't can be fitted with a Wifi SD card. It turns out that hardly anyone actually uses that feature, because Wifi transfer rates are generally a more problematic bottleneck than the inconvenience of pulling the SD card and putting it into a card reader. The main users…
This is akin to people who said "why would you want computer-like features on your phone? Everyone who's willing to pay $500+ for a phone already has a laptop!" A very large number of would-be content creators (not just Instagram, either - YouTubers also) want the higher image quality, dynamic range, optical zoom, interchangeable lenses, etc. of a full-body camera, but don't want to deal with the clunky interfaces an…
I also agree with you.
It seems that the most appealing features of modern DSLRs, except fast autofocus, are hidden behind 90s interfaces with multi-button setups and so on.
Additionally, modern DSLRs must have appstore-like capabilities built into the camera (rather than into a phone device that attaches to camera).
This is where Nikon/Sony/Cannon/Panasonic/Olympus/Pentax(or whoever their new owners are) -- really need to come together with some standard API/interfaces.
I am somewhat disappointing that Samsung with their NX line exited the market, they had some interesting features that I would like to see licensed-for-free to other makers -- like lens based controls.
There is so much of unexplored UI real-state on the cameras, and opportunity for standardization -- that's is so sad to see complete lack of innovation from the dSLR makers.
I do not think vanilla mobile OSes are right platform for the camera... (because of the UIs).
If anything, I suspect these companies have the people (or could get them), but they have to change their culture across marketing/support/software engineering areas. Not just how they do business, but how they hire.
A somewhat separate example: companies like Panasonic, while excelling at device engineering and manufacturing seem to be completely and utterly incompetent when building phone apps that control their own devices (in this example talking about home security products).