The people complaining about the lack of RAM aren't complaining because they just want more RAM, there is a negative effect on user experience (ex. Safari refreshing with just a couple of tabs). Even if Apple did trick us, and if Safari still had to reload/refresh tabs then we'd just want more RAM. One way or another, there's a problem that needs to be addressed. If the iPhone 5S didn't reload Safari all the time, you think people would have this problem with 1GB of RAM? Everyone complaining just wants to not have to have their tabs load when there is nothing opened. You think that can be solved via software optimization (we keep hearing that every iPhone release but the same problem persists) so people asking for more RAM are not wrong.
People just want to stack up justifications for buying a new, unnecessary consumer device. They talk themselves (and others) into believing they "need" it SO much, there's very little chance of convincing them to be happy with what they have.
A very wise person once said:
"It's not your problem that's the problem, its your attitude to the problem that's the problem"
My Mum owns a 3G S - it's slow and it locks up sometimes, but she doesn't throw a fit and convince herself she needs a new iPhone, she is peaceful and content with what she has, and grateful for the blessing of having such a nice device. Her attitude to the "problem" of the device locking up and slowing down is "Oh well, I am happy".
Here's what happens with smartphones:
1/ Rumours mount, suspense and anticipation increases...
2/ Release date arrives! Everyone is in a frenzy, can't wait to try it...
3/ Purchase data arrives - you RUSH to the shop to buy it, then rush around to show all your friends your new phone
4/ You sit caressing and marvelling over your new phone for the next few weeks...
5/ After a few weeks, your "new" phone just becomes "my phone", and all the initial appeal has nearly worn off, and it just blends into your life as a day to day object...
6/ You then start to notice all the "flaws" that you missed completely through your excessive excitement, and go online, obsessively seeking dates for when the next update will be released to fix the problem that is "ruining my life"...
7/ Update comes, fixes the problems, but then another one appears - go to step #6and #7, then jump to step #8, where...
8/ Everything is fixed, now you just wait until next year, using your phone for the next 6 months, subconsciously a timer is ticking in your mind, counting down until the time you say "The new iPhone will be coming in a few months"...
GOTO STEP #1, rinse and repeat, yearly.
What unsatisfying lifes people live, chasing things that can never truly fulfill them.