Yes, but the underlying motivation, at least for the 2 you mentioned, is the room being very cold during winter.
So this is not something that has to do with the printer’s inability to print without a heater, so much as it has to do with the ambient conditions being below normal, and the heater is intended to make up for it.
Here is my take. I only have a Form 1+. It doesn’t have a heater, it doesn’t have a wiper, no sensors, etc. Yet my prints are good, detailed, they don’t break or fail anymore than the next guy, and it’s usually something I did. I have printed with really thick/viscous resins like the FormLabs Grey v2, FormLabs Clear and aftermarket resins like ApplyLabWorks.
I previously had a different Form 1+ that ended up having issues, and it turned out that they were due to a failing laser. I then bought another F1+, which has been printing like a champ for the last year.
Sure I don’t have all those niceties like the auto-refill, or WiFi printing and the dashboard or a color display, but none are needed to achieve good prints.
I understand the principle behind the wiper, yet, all it takes is a failed part stuck to the PDMS, for it to turn everything into a mess. I understand the principle behind the sensors and the auto-refill, but all it takes is a stuck valve to ruin your day ( and there certainly seem to be a lot of complaints about that). I also understand the principle behind the heater, but in reality the printer is capable of printing without it, using most of the resins. Yes, there are some resins that appear to be specific to, or at least marketed to the F2 only, and perhaps they are the ones that benefit from the heater, but no one can convince me that the F2 is not usable without those things.
This is the reason why I’m in agreement with the original post, that for most users, all those bells and whistles are not necessary. Yes, they’re nice to have, but when they break, they’re a nuisance. To FormLabs credit, though, you at least have the option to bypass all this stuff and still use your printer, and I commend them for it.
Edit: Speaking of wiper problems:
I think FormLabs needs to come up with some kind of fail safe. If the wiper encounters any resistance, it should return to the normal “parked” position and shut off for that print session. This is not something you want to deal with.