This complaint always strikes me as trolling of the highest order. As though a 2018 laptop should definitely be designed to accommodate software structured for the limitations of 1970. In 2050, when the world has moved to direct neural interfaces, vi trolls on HN will still be saying "but my escape key!"
I've never failed to hit the software escape key on my 15. Not one time since the past rev was released. What is that, six months? Not once in six months. I just put my finger in exactly the same place as I would on any other keyboard and it always works.