It seems like it. But for me, it’s also about the fact that it was offered by RedHat engineers, almost as if saying “Let’s not forget we have some control over Fedora, whether you like it or not”. And there’s other small issues such as the (in my opinion) terrible Anaconda installer still being used over Calamares, among other issues. The BEST thing that Fedora has done and that ALL self-respecting user-friendly distros MUST do is offer their version of the Fedora USB Tool (I think it was called Fedora USB Writer or something like that).
The Anaconda redesign has been on the works since Fedora 36, it’s bound to come as the default for Fedora Workstation 39. Also, you couldn’t be more wrong about the telemetry proposal even if you tried. The people that work at RedHat aren’t this idea of the EvIL REd HaT HiGhER UpS that you have in your mind. They are contributors just like any other volunteer in the project.
