I'm still really confused about why people are so excited for the R188s. It's the exact same garbage that's been running on the IRT lines for the past 13 years, why is the fact that it's going to be on Flushing now such a big deal?
To give a good explanation about the R188s - well like you said, this is the first time that the 7 gets a brand new taste of NTTs which is why everyone is excited to get photos and videos about it.
I do agree with you however that the R188s are still basically R142As.