Not really that lame or uncommon. It keeps costs down, makes replacement easier and faster, less inventory, etc. And happens all the time in lots of industries

Not really that lame or uncommon. It keeps costs down, makes replacement easier and faster, less inventory, etc. And happens all the time in lots of industries - lots of examples here about same engines indifferent states of tune, same engines and parts with different ECU / fuel injection maps, happens in electronics with chip binning, and lots of devices that have special keys to unlock more functionality or better performance. What’s wrong with blurring the lines between hardware and software? We do in app purchases all the time, and if standardising hardware across all product levels makes things more efficient anyway, why not?