Does it really take four years to update a laptop design? That's getting up there with automotive development time, and cars are significantly more complex.

You don't think Apple has had a meeting yet about 2025 laptops?

Maybe some brainstorming ideas. But I would be surprised if they've put effort into actually designing it yet.

So I think we agree! The initial meeting OP mentioned (where they were like "let's make a list!") probably took place around 2017. I'll certainly grant your point about when more detailed work began. I'll also grant that who knows, maybe they didn't sign off on the concept of listening to the feedback until a year later.