I would actually go a little further. I think the previous, Touch Bar MBP was such a disaster, and cost so much goodwill amongst the MBP-buying community, that the new designs have been made deliberately and self-consciously utilitarian. That is, the design strategy was to communicate a prioritization of function—if not "over" form, at least on an equal footing.

In fact, though I don't absolutely love the design (I have the 16"), I do feel like I understand it. It has a kind of retro-chic to it, which is obviously a very deliberate choice, given that the new iMac also has this kind of Futurist air to it—it reminds me of the design language of the movie "Her". It certainly isn't as gorgeous as the 2016—which was stunning—but having owned that machine, I also recognize that it was complete garbage.

As far as "browsing through old designs" goes, I think there's a bit of confusion here between the entities of "Apple" and "Ive". Ive worked for Apple, not the other way around, so the idea that Ive's design should pervade the products after his departure is to be expected—Apple didn't stop being Apple when he left.

Great article, though. I totally agree that Ive was a remarkable and brave designer, who had a huge impact on the way we see tech today.