Ha! You're cute.
Electrical engineer here, specifically VLSI and microfabrication. While you're certainly not wrong in that additional memory can lead to additional power draw, you're merely in denial if you don't think this is primarily a financial decision.
That Apple safes on bucks as a nice "side effect" is certainly true. I did
not deny that! I referred to the "That is all (saving bucks)" part of the previous poster when I said "Nope".
While it's true that I have absolutely no clue how much electricity can be saved while still sticking to 1 GB of RAM (as opposed to, say, 2 GB) I am pretty sure that is a crucial factor for Apple: even if it means that "battery life" can only be improved by a couple of percent (5% maybe?) it is already a win, since we all know that battery life is the weak factor of any smartphone.
So yes, I still think that Apple engineers are trying to save as much on electricity costs as possible. If most apps run well with 1 GB, why change it? (And again, saving money and making the user still pay a lot is a nice effect, too
)
But hey, it's funny, software engineer here: I can tell you that unless you want to load huge amounts of "texture data" into VRAM (shared RAM in case of the A8/iPhone) - which applies to games only anyway, which yes, are an important factor in the ecosystem - then I can tell you that 1 GB RAM is PLENTY (even considering the amount the OS itself is consuming)!
The iOS API has plenty of "hooks" which let app developers "unload" resources they currently don't need (or which can be easily re-created later, once the app becomes the "active" one). If the app does not do so (which yes, requires effort and knowledge on the part of the developer) within a certain grace period the app is being kicked from RAM (in "low RAM" situations).
That is just one example how apps on embedded systems can (and should) deal with their resources.
So yes, if you're into 3D games then you never can have enough RAM (for hi-res textures, sound etc.). Otherwise: stop whining! Write efficient code! Unload resources you don't need! Etc.