Is the older MBP still value for money? Probably no. But its still a better choice for most.
At this point I'm not worried about specs-dollars value but the development efficiency-dollars value of purchasing an inferior product (new MBP) or switching platforms (XPS with Ubuntu).
Apple sure is trying _really hard_ to get me to switch.
Yes. It sure doesn't look like Apple is going to relent on the silly touchbars, the $300 price bump you pay for the touchbars, the shrunken batteries, and ongoing trials they subject us to.
The only saving grace for them is that Dell XPS machines don't really cost much less. Similarly outfitted 15" units cost a couple hundred dollars less than Apple's. Pre-touchbar they'd actually cost more.