This can be done also with the new models.
Generally speaking you do not have 1 TB4/USB-C less, you have the same number of usable ports since 1 was used for charging anyway.
But with the new one now you can have this AND a HDMI projector attached AND still have the SD CARD slot free to be usable....See? more ports are always better...
Only in 1 scenario you will have 1 USB-C more, when you connect a USB-C monitor that also charge the laptop....but in this case you will probably have the laptop connected to a TB4/TB3 dock anyway....
You are right, but I am also reminded of the iphone which lost its headphone jack a few years ago. In hindsight, here’s where I think Apple was trying to go with the 2016 MBP design.
They wanted a thin and light form factor, all the better to appeal to the mass consumer. This is perhaps where their design team erred - you have a product that professionals rely on for their work, but are being forced to make sacrifices for another segment of users.
The compromises included the butterfly keyboard, the prone-to-breaking display cable, lesser battery and worse thermals. Which were further compounded by Intel evidently not being able to meet their promised roadmap.
My guess is that the move to all usb-c was also in part to enable this thinner form factor. Looking at the side of the MBP, there was clearly no space for a HDMI port, and having 2 ports on each side made for a cleaner symmetrical look.
I also believe that going all-in on USB-C was also intended to force the hand of manufacturers and consumers everywhere. Yes, in the short run, users may be inconvenienced when they find they don’t have a desired adaptor on hand, but perhaps the ideal was that in the long run, everyone is using USB-C for everything, from power to data to display.
That’s perhaps the future of computing that Apple was trying to drive - a thin and light package that can tether to an ultra-powerful rig (eg: a 5k display with attached e-GPU, multiple external drives and Ethernet) when needed.
It’s classic “short term pain for long term gain”. It sounded good on paper, but I guess this is one area where Apple tried to push users in one direction, and they ended up pushing back.