I suspect they wanted the feature changed because it gives them better data when tracking you and other nearby devices and that once the rules for airlines changed they figured they could get away with giving users a false sense of security, which is why the feature is still called "airplane mode" which the public understands to mean everything is disconnected even though that's no longer the case.
I think of it more as cynicism. I don't assume corporations act with our best interests in mind. I assume they will do whatever makes them the most money. Companies make a lot of money using the radios in our devices to track us.
I’m pretty sure “the public” knows that the giant blue (not gray) wifi icon and bluetooth icon in control center means wifi and bluetooth are still working when you press the airplane icon.
