For a general purpose home server/lab device that doesn't have a predefined use case and which might run different software over time, I agree the added memory

For a general purpose home server/lab device that doesn't have a predefined use case and which might run different software over time, I agree the added memory gives you much more flexibility. However, there are plenty of people using Pis in the maker space and embedded world where the device will just run one piece of software for the rest of its life, and often 2GB will be enough. This device is for those types of use cases, and offer substantial cost savings for them.