I think in future devices are supposed to support as many popular functions as possible. Due to trend of thin devices we need smaller ports and fewer of them. Multiple possible use of same ports helps.
As a user there is no easy way for me to tell the 12-inch Macbook's USB-C port is different than the Air/Pro unless you explicitly search for it in the tech specs
Seems like manufacturer failure.
If you see an HDMI port on a laptop you can be sure it's going to output some kind of video signal over that.
But even HDMI/DP have versions. It's especially visible now, as we have >=4k HDR high-frequency displays.