If the MBP without TouchBar that they are currently selling came with the same SSD/CPU options and 32Gb of RAM I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I also know I'm far from alone in that.
Argument #2 is parrotting what Apple said. Laptops that get smaller and smaller tend not have the same power efficiency either. Blaming 'more memory' having lower power efficiency is a weak argument when you look at the whole picture. As for transfer speeds, its not true that more memory = lower transfer speed; it depends on a number of other factors (type of memory, clock rate..)
Weak argument or no, it is demonstrably true - the first Intel CPU to support LPDDR4 will be Cannon Lake, expected some time next year. The part that's missing is that Apple could have put a bigger battery in a device that was either the same size as the previous model (or anywhere between the thickness of the previous and current models), or offered customers the choice of trading RAM for battery life.
Apple does not want consumers to have a choice, or at least only the barely tolerable amount of choice. The more they control and have as uniform as possible the more profit they make.
Agreed - although the argument that Apple makes the choices for you is laughable when you consider how many SKUs there are for a lot of their devices these days (never mind watch bands!).
> when you consider how many SKUs there are for a lot of their devices
It's always the same OS, with constant nagging if it is not the newest OS. On iOS, no choice between app stores and unless you don't like distributing source around and compiling yourself, no sideloading (to ensure Apple always gets their 30% cut). The hardware choices are not really choices either - it's like packages in cars: no way to get something really adjusted to my specific needs, Apple always thinks they know my needs better than I do.
Argument #2 is parrotting what Apple said. Laptops that get smaller and smaller tend not have the same power efficiency either. Blaming 'more memory' having lower power efficiency is a weak argument when you look at the whole picture. As for transfer speeds, its not true that more memory = lower transfer speed; it depends on a number of other factors (type of memory, clock rate..)