Let this be a lesson that over-engineering is a risk, and "framework" type work can be harmful for projects that really require hand-tuning and attention.
"Are we getting too locked in a formula" -- hard to tell what prompted this sentiment, over "we are geniuses for inventing this". I imagine middle management was the biggest hindrance to making something cross-cutting like this happen at a company like Apple. Perhaps it's becoming too crystallized. Who is there to slowly grind away to maybe be a VP someday, and who is there to build epic sh*t?