Pro label means nothing, it's just marketing. Self-described "pros" need to get over that. They have essentially been sucked in to believing they have special needs, its funny really.

It meant something when Apple's Pro laptops had SD card readers.

You illustrate my point perfectly. An SD card reader is not "pro". It is merely convenient.

It used to mean metal instead of plastic and way better specs.

You seem to be making the assumption that people who make their living on a computer are "geeks". I think you're wrong. My wife makes her living on her computer. She's a working artist and spends much of her time in Photoshop. She loves her new MBP.

Programmers make up a tiny percentage of the target market.

The New MBP serves programmers better than artists. As someone working in the creative field everyone I know who does work beyond basic photoshop or UI design is being pushed towards Windows.

Being able to get more cores and CPU power than a top of the line iMac for cheaper than the base iMac helps a lot in any motion work. Access to Nvidia GPUs and therefore GPU rendering engines completely changes your workflow for 3D and product design work. Products like Surface studio are way more valuable to illustrators than an overpriced Cintiq or a TouchBar.

Ten or so years ago you'd see plenty of Macs on the cutting edge of creative work, not the case now I mean heck they can't even consume VR content let alone create VR content.