I do share the sentiment[1], but I also believe that the target market neither cares nor really understands the difference. So from a perspective of both design

I do share the sentiment[1], but I also believe that the target market neither cares nor really understands the difference. So from a perspective of both design and cost margins, it just makes much more sense to use whatever cheapest ARM SoCs is available as long as it is still "adequate". Of course form a hardware hacking perspective, the FPGA would be fantastic, but those toys are not meant for that. [1] Even though my thoughts on what an FPGA can really do better in this situation are complex.