Yup...
I can agree with all that you said....
Still...
I think when the new librem 5 comes out ...the intent by the plasma mobile team is to be prepared...for it.
still even still...
3 gb ram on the librem 5 ..is a mite bit on the lean side for plasma ...
I would want more still for plasma...
like a absolute minimum of 4 gb
6 would be fine ..
8 would be optimal..

3 gb is shaving it close ...for what is to be expected not only out of plasma ..but the expectation of resource consumption out of standard applications in the next few years ...on top of the consumption of what plasma wants...

And yes it isn't as resource hungry as gnome or now defunct unity...
But that is if you keep the settings down...to +1 +2 +3 ...out of +10..

But who the hell wants to keep the settings down when you have plasma??
what is the point of having plasma if you can't turn everything on the dials up to +11 out of +10???

I think we are heading back to the Pinto - Lamborghini ...or rather as I now will coin it
"The Pintoghini Dilemma"
hahahahahaa
that sounds pretty freakin cool...actually ..
an insanely fast suicidal exploding hybrid super-car ...

ooooh...that gives me an idea for the final countdown halloween moviefest...
Gotta add
"Christine"
and
"Killdozer"
to the list of must watch before halloween hits..
then it is pure old skool Bela Lugosi , Boris Karloff , Lon Chaney Jr. ...etc...

like two years ago. i observed the memory usage (plasma desktop) close to 1.1 gb (with no app running) so i moved over to mate but i will switch to xfce soon, just for the change and no doubt kde plasma is beautiful, like pantheon more.

nexus 5 is one he*l of a device. it supports most of the custom rom out there u name it lune os, lineage. and now it will run maem*-7, lucky u.

Running here latest kde neon on my notebook: 530 MB memory usage with no apps running, but some small widgets...
I wouldn't call this a resource hog

Void with Plasma: 385 MB with Bluetooth and everything. Just avoid kdepim like the plague. So yes, it's possible to use it and not to fill all of your memory.

I don't think avoiding parts of Plasma is necessary. I'm running the whole beast including wobbling windows, pim, baloo and widgets.
150 MB for pim isn't that a bad deal

installing xfce, kde5 desktop, uninstalling mate......... couldnot run plasma but xfce is running....... memory usage is 597 mb without any apps. xfce is not responsive as it should be. i am thinking of downloading two separate minimal isos of xfce and plasma and try out. (kdepim - no idea what that is).

What kdepim is? bloatware
It's a mail-calendar-contacts-suite. Nothing Thunderbird couldn't do.
But the important point is that Plasma doesn't have to be a ressource hog so it may be a good choice even for underpowered laptops. Especially since it doesn't need systemd.

thanks for the info, i am gearing myself for xfce adventure so no kde for now, kde is in my to-do list and i will avoid pim. i remember installing full blown iso thats why less ram, duh and kudos to pclos and this community i am already running a system without systemd.
its good that i eat almonds, good for your brain, thats why i am starting to remember stuff

Sorry for oot, but mi mix first gen is still the best for me, big battery, 3,5mm jack, i wish i can install meego inside there...what a perfect full screen experience, the greatest mi mix series ever