I don't have the impression Apple would intentionally cut the performance like that if they can't also make you pay for an upgrade that alleviates the bottlenec

I don't have the impression Apple would intentionally cut the performance like that if they can't also make you pay for an upgrade that alleviates the bottleneck. Want a reasonable RAM & storage capacity? Pay for the upgrade. Want more IO without dongles? Pay for the Pro model. Want a 120Hz screen for smoother drawing? Pay for the iPad Pro. If it was intentional I'd expect Apple to have a more expensive Pro Max Ultra tier with actually good cooling, and then a year later they can pretend they invented a new paradigm of CPU cooling that works even in the cheaper models. There's no upside for them if cooling just sucks in general, and their switch to a more energy efficient architecture is clearly motivated by this problem.