That explanation sounds like BS. Full size HDMI is still shorter than the ethernet jack, so vertical space is there. Width would be the only restriction, but there's plenty of that, too.
Additionally, a little tidbit not included in this article:
"Also, full-sized HDMI connectors have no lead-in (to funnel the connector in). Whereas the micro-HDMI ones do, this makes auto-insertion of the connectors possible when testing which means we can do testing through the connector. This makes it cheaper and more reliable..."
Source: https://twitter.com/gsholling/status/1323322997315411971?s=2...
That's an interesting point I didn't know. Thanks.