> this is the type of thing that should have come up in a meeting, and someone didn’t feel empowered to bring it up

I was completely agreeing with you until this statement at the very end.

How do you know it didn't come up in a meeting and that Apple isn't full of assholes who channel their inner (wildly distorted perception of) Steve Jobs to shut down dissent? If there's any place where a whole goddamn committee could be that delusional about its own nature, it's Apple. The company got way too big for its own good a very long time ago.

You're spot on otherwise. It's the fundamental reason why everyone who does hates Apple.