I also felt this way, until I read that the system is completely opt-in. Logistics of quality seem kinda interesting, so I'll probably try to dip into it. And if I won't like it, ignoring the quality upgrade is easy and (allegedly) won't hurt the progression.
Ooh, opt-in makes a lot of sense with this, with that it can be considered as a kind of "increased difficulty" setting for seasoned, veteran players who want just something more to work on optimizing.
Yeah, I felt the same ad you until I found out the opt in part.
As far as I understand, the only way to get above default base quality is to first create the new modules that will give you a chance of increased quality items, kickstarting a feedback loop of quality items.
But as long as you have base quality materials and base quality machines you get base quality results.. So I think I'm on board, but it was the weirdest update I've seen so far for Factorio