When I create a new (empty) note, it’s not immediately obvious whether it’s in edit or view mode, since there’s no text in it yet. So I have to start typing, see if it works, and press Ctrl-E if not. This is even worse than just always having to press Ctrl-E.
D-oh! You’re right—all the native Obsidian ways of creating new notes already seem to do this. It’s just the calendar plugin that behaves like I described when creating new notes, it seems…