Comment FTFY (Score 1) 219
If there's one thing and one thing only that soldered RAM is indisputably good for, it's saving space.
If there's one thing and one thing only that soldered RAM is indisputably good for, it's increasing profits.
First, memory sockets with their gold-plated contacts represent a not-insignificant cost. Second, inserting the RAM into a socket is an added production step, and for cost reasons manufacturers do everything they can to minimize those added steps. Third, when the user can't upgrade RAM, the computer becomes obsolete sooner, so it gets replaced sooner. Fourth, when people buy a model that has more factory-installed memory - in an attempt to postpone the computer's obsolescence a bit longer - the extra money goes directly to the manufacturer rather that to a third-party RAM upgrade supplier.