I'm pleased to inform you that the issue you mentioned was resolved in v27.9, and the current version of Adobe Illustrator, which is version 28.0, also has this option. I recommend updating to the latest version. If you encounter any other issues or have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Anshul Saini - can you please let us all know if Adobe is working on adding the "Apply to All" check box back into Illustrator? The problem that I and many other users are having is when we need to replace a linked image with a NEW image (with a different name). The current method does not allow this to happen with one click (like the "Apply to All" allows) and sometimes I have 200+ images that need relinking. This means that I'd need to click 400+ times for this one file! Please let us know the status of this problem. Thanks.
Yes, experiencing the exact same issue here. I have a template set up that I routinely use for the same size of card, but the design changes. Up until this newest release, all I had to do was open the template, it would pop up with the message saying the linked file couldn't be found, I could just select the new design I wanted to run 16-up or 20-up on the page, click "Apply to all" and like magic, Illustrator would automatically fill all of those slots. Now I have to MANUALLY click "replace" and then go through a bunch of clicks, x16, to get my template filled.
Could it be that you have several links selected in v27.7 and only one link selected in 27.8.1 ? Apply to all will most likely not show if there is only one link selected or to be updated.