I know quite a few people who require >16GB, and not one of them is a power user nor do they use a VM. What they do is edit large amounts of 4K video in FCP, and they're rather screwed without an actual MacBook Pro.
No, there are no cloud options for them, they need the RAM for the video. No, the Mac Pro isn't a viable option for them at that price, nor is it portable.
I'm pretty sure they don't give a damn about battery life, either. They do their editing at a desk, and then take the MBP with them.
So, for now, they're stuck with old models until there's a better one, or they spend a fair amount of money building a new pipeline and purchasing new software.
No, there are no cloud options for them, they need the RAM for the video. No, the Mac Pro isn't a viable option for them at that price, nor is it portable.
I'm pretty sure they don't give a damn about battery life, either. They do their editing at a desk, and then take the MBP with them.
So, for now, they're stuck with old models until there's a better one, or they spend a fair amount of money building a new pipeline and purchasing new software.