In this case, Apple is playing catchup to Spotify and other streaming services, after suffering from Steve Jobs' legacy "People want to own their music". (Jobs also insisted that people wanted smaller phones) So Apple had to launch a streaming service, because streaming has proven to be so popular.Agree entirely. I think the problem is that Apple keeps trying different things hoping to see what'll catch on (or more recently, earn recurring subscription income).
Every time their "latest-and-greatest-idea" doesn't pan out, they try something new, but remnants of the old remain in place to support customers who, literally, bought into the idea. Home sharing, by comparison, was a freebie, so they're probably hoping they can just bury it quietly?
I still believe based on the release notes that both home sharing and genius playlists will come back. Remember, Apple really alienated its pro user community when it released FCPX. Now, 3 years later, most of the features that were originally left out have come back.