Do you know of any recent benchmarks to back up this claim? It's entirely quantifiable.
Also, it's such a controversial thing you would think if the difference was so stark The Verge, Linus Tech Tips or Max Tech, etc. would, you know, actually measure it.
The only kinda objective side-by-side test I could find, on typical workloads, was this 2 year old video on the M1 which stated the 8gb did well on typical multitask workloads. For Chrome tab test the bottleneck was the internet speed, not RAM. Lightroom and Final Cut Export was slower, but typical multitasking workloads basically matched.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Which is the problem in a nutshell. No one knows what it means.
The parent worked as a dev for a year with the machine and was happy with it. I am also a dev, and am still on a M1 8gb Air that I got in early 2021, and I'm very happy with it. Probably the best laptop I've ever had the pleasure to work on.
For my workload, I don't think the difference between a 8gb and 16gb machine would be measurable. Some people really would prefer the $200.
I think in the short term, you're definitely right. It does not work in your favor if you want remote work in CA. The key issue is this, from the article:
"While the determination of whether an expense is "necessary" varies depending on the circumstances of a particular case, generally speaking, California employees who work from home are likely entitled to reimbursement"
Notice that necessary is in quotes, and the words generally, varies and likely, etc. Basically, none of this is hashed out and business owners have no idea what to pay and when. Expenses can be budgeted around but uncertainty makes this hard. And the risk of a significant surprise charge is real.
I think it's likely many businesses are just going to want to sit this out while the details are all worked out. Once the dust settles they'll do the math and make a decision.
So in the long term, it could be beneficial. In the short term, probably not.
“noting the layoffs were not necessarily cuts in total head count.”
The devil is in the details and I know I’m way too lazy to go through all that paperwork and find out. Looks like everyone else is too. :)