Meaning people may still buy this MBP but decide that their next computer won't be a Mac, this means the "lost sale" could be four or five years into the future.
Plus there's the magnifying effect of "influences." Are technical people still going to recommend to their less technical family members a Mac?
My point isn't "Apple is doomed!" rather, any company, has to look beyond yesterday's sales numbers to broadcast tomorrow's sales. Hopefully Apple has the data to know if these changes do more good than harm.
I've done that for decades. Not anymore. More or less after 10.6.8 the software started getting more and more fiddly, slower, and less intuitive, and the hardware has been getting more fragile and less versatile. I just recommend Lenovo with Windows 10 and/or Ubuntu, depending on the person. Xubuntu for me.
Now, if they sold two high-end MBP models, one with and one without the touchbar, then that would be a valid comparison. But they don't do that.