Onboard flash would be welcome. External flash makes things unnecessarily hard for beginners. You either need to investigate their complicated boot scheme and work with built-in SPI even before you can blink the led, or use their overcomplicated SDK with overcomplicated build tools. Both alternatives are terrible. I can write blink led application using few lines of assembly with STM32 and that's how it should be.
Beginners use Arduino or MicroPython. For a microcontroller SDK, picolib is also quite simple. No need to deal with the boot or SPI manually.
But of course built in flash will be a welcomed addition :)
I was beginner one year ago and I didn't use Arduino or MicroPython. I don't even know Python and I don't want to know it. I really liked RP2040 datasheet, it's miles ahead of everything I've read so far, but this issue with inability to write simplest program without loads of bloated libraries and tools led me to STM32. Now I have some experience dealing with STM32, nRF52 chips, I learned to use UART, SPI, USB, BLE and I probably would be able to write blink program for RP2040, but I'm not a beginner anymore, I think.
I understand what you're talking about, but I think it's wrong to shoehorn beginners into one size. I, for one, prefer to start simple. Simple start for MCU is assembly code or very basic C code, linker script and programmer. Those are necessary and can't be dismissed. Programming MCU with Python is like writing website with C. Could be done, but feels wrong.
I agree, the whole draw to modern mcu for me is that it resembles 80s personal computers in ram constraints. The bloated libraries run counter to that.
