The difference I was trying to point out is that Emacs is always in "insert mode" in the vi sense. In vi normal mode, many commands don't require modifier keys

The difference I was trying to point out is that Emacs is always in "insert mode" in the vi sense. In vi normal mode, many commands don't require modifier keys. Vim has syntax-aware navigation, too. And what Emacs calls "modes", Vim calls syntax/filetype plugins.