Ok, I usually don't do this, but it would be good to understand why I'm being downvoted here.
Therefore it makes sense to talk about design and not downplay its importance with a comment like "Yet some think that's the most important part..."; because one of those "some" was Steve Jobs and I don't think Apple has changed its policy much in that regard.
I'm not judging if he would have released this iPhone 7 or not, I'm just saying what I've said.
I think the reason you were getting eaten alive was because your comment somehow confused the design being similar with that somehow being bad. Steve Jobs was always about refining and, when he found a design he liked, he stuck with it. For nearly the entire iPhone's existence, Jony Ive has been the one that has decided the design of the phone. I would imagine that if he's happy with it, Steve would have been too.
You're totally right with your comment but I think that the context of the other posts made it seem like you were suggesting something you weren't.
Steve Jobs definitely didn't play down that part, to the point of being as important as any other part.