I Don’t Care What Google or Apple or Whoever Did

"Google relies on color alone for links in search results"

I remember when OS X first came out, and it seemed to have replaced window controls that were distinguishable glyphs with round jewel-like controls differing only with color.

It was pretty, but it sure seemed like an F-U to anyone with issues telling colors apart. As well as existing users in general.

This falls under the 'appeal to authority' logic of 'best practices'. That's fine when the person applying it doesn't have the knowledge, time, or priority for doing it better. It's always good to be aware you've taking a shortcut on the design and not make an unwarranted defense of it.

I used to work in e-com and it was incredibly common to look at Amazon for inspiration and design implementation. Crazy considering how complex Amazon's business and user needs are.