I'm not sure the connection between your two clauses -- are you saying that because Tim Cook is running Apple, Apple no longer produces "well designed, but not cheap prosumer hardware"?
Yes. Steve Jobs was notorious for driving his team to do the impossible, no matter how marginal the utility might seem. He set the bar pretty high for design. All outside indications seem to demonstrate Tim Cook doesn't drive it to the same degree. I think Apple will still try to deliver on those traditions, but especially as the iphone 6 shows, they're not doing a great job at it.
Apple seems to lead the way in making things thinner, and following behind in making "new" things. Its a clear void.
