No surprises here. Just like the lockdown on iPhone screen and part replacements, Macbooks suffer from the same Apple’s anti-repair and anti-consumer bullshit. Battery glued, ssd soldered in and can’t even swap parts with other official parts. 6000$ laptop and you don’t even own it.
I’ve used both hinged and non-hinged Apple touchpads, and the difference is noticeable but minor to me. Certainly not enough to make up for everything that’s wrong with Apple hardware.
I just don’t like carrying a mouse with me if I want to use my laptop as a laptop. To me the difference is pretty big.