I am not sure about it. The MacBook Air has the M1 chip, which is, of course, great. If you go by the M1 chip alone, then you will come to the conclusion that it has the best value overall among all computers.Much of what you said is true. Apple does not care to make or sell the cheapest computer much
like BMW, honda, Toyota etc, do not care to make the cheapest cars.
That said the M1 MacBook air is one of the best values going mac or PC.
Apple MacBook Air with M1, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, $899 at BestBuy
Apple MacBook Air with M1, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, $1149.99 at BestBuy
Dell XPS 13 with Core i7-1165g7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, $1099.99 at Dell website
Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 14-inch with Ryzen 7 5700U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, at $799.99 at BestBuy
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha 13.3-inch QLED with Core i7-1165g7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, at $899.99 at BestBuy
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15.6-inch AMOLED with Core i7-1165g7, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, $1299.99 at BestBuy
Lenovo Yoga 6 13 2-in-1 with Ryzen 7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, at $949.99 at BestBuy
I am inclined to say that the laptops above offer a better value than the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air has a decent value, though.