That´s what I said. The 777X will not be "more modern" than a 787, it will be a 787 with some 777 tradition to ease certification as a derivative and cross-qualification of the crew.
Both designs, the classic 777 and the 787 performed very well (in that respect), why change further ?
It is not like in the late 80s, when the A320 FBW design was revolutionary, and Boeing was forced to improve their designs. There is no revolution on the A350, so no need to react. Except maybe for passenger comfort...
There especially was no revolution on the A380. In hindsight that might be one of the big issues why this tread is existing at all. If Airbus would have been ready to do the A380 in full composites or with a more efficient folding wing, would it have made a difference? I think nobody can tell. There is always a good reason to not reinvent the wheel every time. What seems to have failed is the idea, that staying with a relatively conventional design for the A380 would allow to develop it quickly and to sell it cheap...
It is interesting to see, that the A380 wing is the exact opposite of the 787/777X/A350 wing, aluminum spars and skins with composites ribs vs. Carbon fibre spars and skins with aluminum ribs. It is rare in aviation (and probably in most of the industry) that you have two products on the market which are exactly opposite. Typically this shows that both are not the optimum...
The 777X wing is quite different from 787 wing and is designed and built in Seattle, unlike 787 wing which is Japanese.
Here's the 777X wing secret: It's just a longer 787 Dreamliner wing