I don't think this article holds up. The point made iterating "Apple doesn't get it anymore" refer to weight and thickness, which have always been center to Apple design. Apple isn't dissecting processor clock or even the amount of RAM in devices, so the article fails to make the point that Apple is all about specs and not design.
Apple is still the "Aston Martin" in tech design. Just for the sake of argument, if they aren't the pinnacle of tech design who is?