I wonder if those that disagree with you have taken a look into the speaker drivers that this MEMS speaker targets (smartphones and earbuds). These devices are

I wonder if those that disagree with you have taken a look into the speaker drivers that this MEMS speaker targets (smartphones and earbuds). These devices are many times more complex to manufacture than the large scale dynamic drivers you might find in a pair of desktop speakers, and are definitely not possible to wind by hand. The armature is made with incredibly fine guage wire around a form of precise (non circular) geometry, and needs to be coated with epoxy to stay together. The diaphragm, reed and driver body are also precise parts with their own manufacturing difficulties. In short, I absolutely agree with the article's assertion that replacing these manufacturing methods with lithography is indeed a simplification. Just because the concept of a wound electromagnet has been around for longer does not mean that it is simpler in practice.