Meant to say that I didn't get the lower specced M series around the time you did even though I was generally still sticking with the base models, because of the constraints you mentioned, opting to just wait until it was more feasible to spend more later on and continue suffering
I mean, that's the reason I got the late-2020 MBA M1 16GB in September 2022, instead of going for M2 24GB 512GB for twice the price, because M2 downgraded the 256GB SSD, so, you'd have to get 512GB to get the same performance as M1 256GB, and then might as well max out the RAM at 24GB, too, and now suddenly you're paying 2x for the base model with max RAM compared to the maxed-out base M1 MBA.
So, if you agree with the constraints I've mentioned, how are they inaccurate? The early-2020 Intel MacBook Air does support dual external monitors, it's an M1 regression where it's no longer supported, and it took them until M4 to finally fix the regression, it's present in every MBA until then, and in several MBP models, too.
I agree with the criticism of the pricing ladder, and shared related sentiments in similar comments throughout the years about other issues, but I've simply never purchased an Air because it's not a developer laptop if those are your constraints. Earlier Pros had multi-monitor support, just not the Air. It's a way more capable laptop in other ways than it was before even with the regression, so it required a harder decision.
It was only in 2024 that the gap between the computer I did have became significantly noticeable enough, and the configuration became more tolerable in their stupid pricing ladder to accept it. Because the money was also finally there on my side, the 4.5k CAD I paid was actually relatively fine, when you consider that it's relatively cheap within the scope of investments in professional tools.
In prior years, I had a 14" M2 Pro, M3 Pro, sitting in my cart with minimum 32gb of ram, but it felt too highly priced for what it was. Then in 2024 I got a 16" 48gb Pro. Even though I'd prefer 64, it had the right balance for me in my overall budget for my only physical tool investment (rather than focusing on the specific upgrade costs). "Can I spend ~4.5k CAD on this tool and be happier than I was doing my work?", the answer was yes, and it's been great, but I'm not sure I'd have been as happy with it earlier.
Meant to say that I didn't get the lower specced M series around the time you did even though I was generally still sticking with the base models, because of the constraints you mentioned, opting to just wait until it was more feasible to spend more later on and continue suffering