Neither has outlived the other, the 1911 platform and all of the features that have been a part of it at one time or another have just soldiered on, some more than others. I agree with the frame cut thing, and really all 1911s today are neither traditional 1911s or 1911A1s, save for some like the Springfield GI which tries to be but still isn't totally original A1 spec, albeit closer to that than anything else. All modern 1911s have design details from one or both designs and modern modifications of their own. The 1911A1 was a military gun, with Government and Commercial models being available to the public, like the M9 is to the 92FS.
The two parts you're concerned about are the trigger and housing. I've read or heard somewhere that the long trigger had rough edges along with the reach being longer, so the Army wanted a shorter and smoother trigger for more ease of use. The housing is kind of weird, since I know a lot of people who do prefer the flat housing, but back in the day, most handguns and revolvers had rounder butts or angles that dug into the bottom portion of your hand, and so they must have wanted that feeling in the A1, though that is just my conjecture. I prefer the arched housing since it's more aesthetically pleasing and it feels good in my hand when I hold it. Same with the short trigger.
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