> If you actually go to the used market, it's easy to find a gently used machine that is much better.

A huge percentage of the population (at least in the US) is completely unwilling to buy any used consumer products. For some it is the ick factor, for others it is fear of being scammed.

> Any MacBook Air with an M2 and 16GB of RAM is a better purchase.

Is this really a better alternative if it stops getting macOS updates several years sooner? I wouldn’t buy an 8gb laptop, but they are fine for many use cases.