ports put a limit on how thin the laptop can be. a VGA connection can't get smaller, an RJ-45 jack can't get smaller. the dimensions of the laptop define how realistically "portable" it may be, which is ostensibly the main argument for laptops in the first place.
My Panasonic CF-RZ5 weighs 1.6lbs, and sports VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, 3xUSB3, a headphone jack, a power socket, a 1920x1200 IPS display, and a removable battery. It is from 2016, and makes the idea of all of these features compromising portability questionable.
I'm happy to see the RJ-45, I don't care if it's thinner, my ~2011 mbp had one and thought it was a fine size (miss being able to reasonably upgrade the ram and hdd myself too). I'd much rather see another hdmi or dp/mini-dp over the vga though. Though the lack of a quality touchpad is the biggest omission for me... I hate all laptop keyboards, but the mbp touchpad is super nice.
Because Apple doesn't have them. So they must be bad.