I too don't like the move back to all the plugs on MacBooks. Sure the safe unplugs when you trip over it, but I thought the battery was so good it doesn't need to be plugged in as much:-)
As for the SD card slot, my Nikon doesn't use SD and most other devices use WiFi or BLE.

I don't know if Apple "lost it" but I think they thumbed their nose to all those wanting those plugs back- saying here you go, now you're like a clunky PC. Now can we go back to elegant computers.. (like my 2015 12 inch MacBook).