Brilliant write up. I remember using the old ones, and only last year found the oxo model. truly amazing. Many important lessons in product design in that article; with the most important in the last sentence - it has to work!
I've tried swivelling peelers a few times and every time I return to my forty year old Lancashire peeler with its blade held on the plastic handle with tightly wrapped cotton string. A bit like this one: https://www.pattersons.co.uk/lancashire-peeler.html
that's something i never understood: why do they sell peelers with a movable part? like we are meant to peel in curves and expect the knife to follow the curve beautifully? the fixed ones are easier to use and easier to clean!
The hinge allows you to peel in both directions (i.e. forwards and backwards across your potato/carrot/etc. without lifting the peeler.) It also means it can track a rough surface more easily. I haven't had any issues with the hinge, and I use a dishwasher for cleaning - what issues have you run into?
I find the movable ones cut a thinner peel, probably the blade is held at a more optimal angle if it can find its own position, or maybe my particular movable one is just better-made than my fixed one.