A constant barrage of application update notifications, and the process of doing the same, was an unnecessary chore that led to update fatigue. Apple moved to defaulting to automatic updates, removed the various signals and notifications about updates pending, and now the average person just has updated apps within a reasonable window of consideration.

e.g. This was definitely a change for the better. They're pushing something that shouldn't be first class into the background, in the same way that you don't manage memory or decide which apps in the background to close.