And I can still connect my iPhone 12 to my old car that supports the “iPod USB protocol” from before the first iPhone came out.

Yep. Thirty pin adapters STILL WORK.

Apple supports it and sells the dongle.

Can’t realistically ask for more than that.

For us old Apple enthusiasts there were many many upsides to apples success and mainstreaming, some of the downsides include the hysterical reaction to anything they do.