Mike Buckley wrote:

I'll maybe buy a replacement tree of different variety this year but
plant it somewhere else and give this tree one year of pampering to see
if it fruits next year.

Unless you really want industrial quantities of the same apple you might
want to consider getting a family tree with two grafts on one dwarfing
rootstock. They need a bit more careful pruning but are otherwise easy
enough - you pay a premium for the double graft. I have an Egremont
Russet + Sunset family tree on M9 stock for eating apples and a very
large Bramley.

Regards,
Martin Brown