I didn't exactly understand this feature. Usually when I'm opening a file, the chances that my cursor is already where I want it and I can just start typing is next to zero.

Really? When I open a file, nine times out of ten I'm modifying it in some specific location that's definitely not the start of the file, and the first thing I need to do is navigate, which is what Normal mode is for (among other things).

About the only time I fire up an editor and face a blank file is when I'm writing prose, which is definitely not the majority of time I'm spending in Vi/Vim.