Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean "modern"? I'm using iPhones since 4S and I don't think that Music or iBooks workflow changed, it's largely the same. So probably Steve Jobs was OK with that.
Um, no? Apple Music wasn't even a thing in the iPhone 4S timeframe. You used to buy music in the iTunes Store, and play it in the music player app. It used to be if you clicked the App Store, and you had apps to update, it would take you to the "Update" tab immediately. Then they changed it to take you to the main page, and you had to click the "Update" tab. Then they changed the updates to be under your account; so…
Yes, it still has a billion things wrong with it, including not being able to uninstall the shovelware, and not being able to modify the OS, and I'd rather have a third choice better than both these two.