First, IBM doesn't make thinkpads and hasn't for close to a decade. Second, this is just because they know who their market is. They're deliberately not market

First, IBM doesn't make thinkpads and hasn't for close to a decade. Second, this is just because they know who their market is. They're deliberately not marketing their laptops to people who don't want to have to handle a little bit of complexity in exchange for flexibility. Apple is the Sony rx100; good but not great sensor, good but not great lens, good but not great audio. Everything is fixed and you can only make superficial changes. Thinkpad is the Red Komodo; everything is optional, but it doesn't even include vital components in the box unless you know to order them. You can get decent results with the former, and it requires very little thought or experience to buy and use. There is a much higher ceiling for getting exactly what you want with the latter, but it requires you to know exactly what you're doing and be willing to do some work on your setup. Neither option is objectively better.