In 3 years when you still own the machine and almost everything is USB-C, you'll probably feel differently about the ports.
> My biggest gripe, however, is the sudden loss of Magsafe in favor of USB-C charging only. This is a huge step backwards as Magsafe was developed to protect the computer and the charger from damage in case of a sudden, omni-directional tug.
This is my biggest gripe, too. Magsafe saved my ass more times than I want to think about.
At this point, many new computers have USB-C, and a growing number of computers have only USB-C. So there's a market of people who need USB-C connectors, and untapped markets with a strong demand and a proven willingness to spend premium money attracts device manufacturers heavily. So maybe I'm being optimistic, but I don't think overwhelmingly so.
My biggest gripe, however, is the sudden loss of Magsafe in favor of USB-C charging only. This is a huge step backwards as Magsafe was developed to protect the computer and the charger from damage in case of a sudden, omni-directional tug. I can't imagine the internals of a USB-C connector holding up to that abuse. While they say you wont need to charge it as frequently, I don't buy that this will always be the case, not to mention it is very difficult to change user behavior and people will still attempt to charge it casually.