It's only a matter of time before that kind of RAM size is normal for very low-power and low-cost devices though, and if running Linux makes your development faster or easier or whatever then it's good to have it as an option.
It really depends on the application, how much processing power you need, etc. but more options are only a good thing.
Remember that the 'T' in IoT doesn't just mean little things - these guys are talking about devices that monitor large transformers and power distribution equipment (critical electrical infrastructure). It's likely that an IoT device for that would be doing a lot more than, say, a smart meter for a home for which Linux probably would be overkill.
> It's only a matter of time before that kind of RAM size is normal for very low-power and low-cost devices though
Really? SRAM isn't cheap and takes power, DRAM cheaper (especially once process/packaging technology means you can place it on the same die or in the same package as the processor) but still costs power. Fundamentally if you want very low-power you're gonna go for lowest RAM possible. Ditching it is an easy way to save power. Even if RAM is cheap using 1/32th of it (8mb vs 256k) makes things cheaper still. Important if you're going for very low-cost.
The problem I have with that is that I hear it every decade about niche-x. And people are right, but as soon as costs drop enough that niche-x can support the full desktop stack there's now a niche-y where you're still stuck with hundreds of bytes of memory, the market is x10 as big, and you're using the same tools you were using a decade ago.
An 8-bit micro controller will be with us forever because it is the smallest computer that is useful for more than trivial tasks, it will just keep getting smaller and smaller. I won't be surprised if the first space ship to land on a different solar system has trillions of 8-bit computers on it the size of atoms.
It really depends on the application, how much processing power you need, etc. but more options are only a good thing.
Remember that the 'T' in IoT doesn't just mean little things - these guys are talking about devices that monitor large transformers and power distribution equipment (critical electrical infrastructure). It's likely that an IoT device for that would be doing a lot more than, say, a smart meter for a home for which Linux probably would be overkill.