A single line text field in any interface doesn’t behave the same way as the single line text field in the address bar. It certainly does break conventions.
I agree with you. There was a big outcry when they changed it, granted this was quite some time ago and the young ones here may not remember, but it’s still a break from the way everything else works.
But as usual, broken stuff becomes the new normal after a while.
It’s yet another US weirdness. I’m not sure if it even makes sense to compare it to the original (which uses raw milk and can get as tasty as you like the more you age it).