I'm not sure why all the hate.
The Ascend card is a worthy replacement for the Reserve. No FX fees and the free weekend night were the two things most important to people. Same Gold benefit and $40k Diamond benefit.
The weekend night threshold bumps up a bit, but the card throws in 10 free lounge passes. If you don't already have a lounge membership and fly 4-5 international trips a year that are likely to have a longer layover, that's a nice perk to have without needing to jump into a $450 card.
Aspire is a whole new option that may or may not be right for you. Amex isn't going to get millions of new applicants that suddenly flood Hiltons with new Diamond room-nights. (They'd be happy if they did, but I seriously doubt it works that way.) Besides, as others have pointed out...properties know their frequent guests. Those people still get prioritized over CC elites.
Every card issuer has the $450 card now. The real target audience for the Aspire is someone who already stays at Hiltons or is willing to start doing so fairly regularly (e.g. elite-level travel). Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense for most people to add this card. The thought of adding it just to do the 1 resort stay, 1 Waldorf stay, and 1 free night is totally a Flyertalker behavior
, not something tons of people are going to do.