Not a single decision is made on things that I am DRI on without me being a part of that decision. I may not get my way if I'm over-ruled for corporate reasons, but I know about it, and being the DRI, I get a slightly-larger-than-average say in what happens. Generally it takes a director or VP to over-rule what I want, and then the radar is very clearly marked as such.

Apple takes the concept of the DRI very seriously. You don't give responsibility without also giving power.

My opinion: There is zero chance (not "a small chance", zero chance) that Jony Ive didn't sign off on, and explicitly endorse the Touch Bar. Something that obvious, in that commanding a position in the user interface would never have escaped his personal input and attention.