> Perhaps a new generation could shoehorn in a non-card USB-C port, although that would break their design rule that all ports support Thunderbolt.

And that is what frustrates me so much. Sure, have an expansion slot on each side, they seem cool and I get the benefits. But give me more ports in a motherboard I can replace. This didn't seem like a technical decision or one grounded in values of repairability and sustainability, it seems like they made a design decision that is objectively worse.