Whilst I agree that other people don't know your usage unless you share it with them, the memory usage you posted above would indicate that for those particular applications you don't need 32GB. Of course, you may well run a lot more apps and have heavier memory requirements that you don't show.
For most people, "memory pressure" is a good measure because it can be tricky to interpret the other numbers (and even harder with OS-level tools like "top".
I've seen plenty of posts along the lines of "OMG, Photoshop is taking 20GB to open 10 photos - just as well I bought the 32GB model!", or "I've got 15GB of my 16GB memory used - I'm about to run out!".
You probably know this, but for the wider audience, well-designed apps are "memory aware". If there is free memory they will try to use it to make the app more efficient with local caches. Still have more free? The OS will use it for file-system caches. Remember the mantra "unused memory is wasted memory" - chant it 10 times every day. That same Photoshop app might take 10GB on a 16GB machine or 5GB on an 8GB machine, and still run perfectly well. It's only when significant swapping occurs (approaching or exceeding the size of the physical RAM) that slowdowns will be seen (with modern SSDs). Same with compressed memory - it's pretty fast.
Usage patterns also matter - there is a big difference between switching applications once every half an hour to doing it every 30 seconds. If you do have lots of app data in swap and are constantly reading and writing to swap space, then you will see the impact on system performance much sooner than using a single app for long stretches (when most of it will be swapped back into RAM and lesser-used apps will be pushed to swap).
As a parting thought, we're also seeing the downside of over-speccing your memory. Apart from the huge cost of Apple RAM, it actually uses quite a lot more power. There is another thread showing the difference of DRAM power usage on the M1 Max going up always twice between 32GB and 64GB - that is going to hit your battery life, so you'd better be really sure that you need more memory.
You are right - but nobody even needs 8 GB, as an argument, considering the iPhone 8 with 2 GB can open websites and have some tabs as well and certainly run a lot of apps that do a lot of things (productive things), and the iPhone 6s (with 1 GB?) can do that as well.
The idea is headroom to breathe and grow.
Yes, unused memory is wasted memory. What people do not think about is:
A jet engine is designed such that it can take the weight of the aircraft it is serving alone. The second engine is a contingency of sorts. Secondly, the engines do not even run at full power all the time. Unused power would be wasted power, right? So, do you need the second engine in an aircraft or not? Think about the weight savings and how much more energy-efficient that would make the aircraft. Airlines certainly think about it, they fill only that much fuel as needed. It is the government that does not allow them to run on only one engine. They would, if they were allowed to. Further, do you want a lower-spec engine that runs at its maximum power all the time, gasping for breath, considering unused power is wasted power?
People stock their refrigerators all the time, right? Are you drinking 6 beers at once? No. You can only drink them one after another. So, why buy the 6 at once? Go buy again if you need, no? This can sound like an absurd logic/ argument/ comparison to people with a certain mindset, but I am sure there will be some who will get the point of this.
There is a difference between absolutely not needing something and having a healthy amount of something that allows you room to grow and allows you the convenience and resources to do everything you might want to do for the duration you are intent on keeping it the way that will keep you satisfied and not make you feel handicapped with anything. I do not need more than 1 beer at once because I cannot drink from 6 cans at once. But I buy a 6-pack or maybe three 6-packs. Why? That's why I go with 32 GB today because I can. If finances are an issue, I can go with buying a 6-pack as and when required. If finances are really tight, I will only buy one and then buy another when I have money. It is that simple. Having three 6-packs with me gives me convenience. Do I need a 100 6-packs with me? Absolutely not. But I would need a 100 or more if I was having large parties every other day. That's what 64 GB is for people who need it and those who don't.
About hit on battery life: I do not live in a cave, nor do I consider myself so limp and frail to be unable to carry a charging brick and cable along with, if I think it would be beneficial. Unless I am holding the notebook in one hand, I can certainly plug it in and work. What's the huge deal about a couple hours hit?
Here is my battery expectations for my aforementioned apps at the time:
At minimum, accounting for all variables, I will get at least 9-10 hours out of it. Am I going to be working for more than that without access to power? I will not. If some people will, then they best pick the Air instead of any Pro, and likely buy two of them and mirror them so they can continue working on the other after the battery on one dies.
