Maybe people just disagree that it's an obvious downgrade? There are benefits to the touchbar, and yes people who prefer the touchbar over the function keys do exist - I'm one of them. Have you tried really using it, or did you write it off and ignore it as much as possible?

For example, the fact you're talking about tap-tap-tap to change the volume leads me to believe you're not aware of the swipe-to-change function. You don't have to tap the volume button, you just swipe over it in one go. A single tap-swipe. In my opinion that is a superior experience than indeed having to tap the correct F-key a few times. Is that so hard to believe?