Yes. The full recommendation reads "This time round, we’re recommending a 2.5A adapter if you want to connect power-hungry USB devices to the Raspberry Pi."
So I guess the assumption is the average person won't connect power-hungry USB devices to their Pi 3.
Probably a stupid question, I don't know much about this stuff. Is there any reason not to just use a 2.5A even if you're not connecting power-hungry USB devices? If it doesn't cost significantly more and it doesn't hurt to use 2.5 anyway, it's something I'd rather not have to worry about.
Wouldn't the more common use-case for power-hungry usb devices be to have a powered hub to drive them? Then you don't have to worry about browning-out the RPi itself, though of course the cable clutter is worse.
That would be pushing it for powering through just the RPi. Webcams are typically rated for 500mA each and the RPi has been running around 700mA usage. So with the recommended increase, I'd wager their power usage may have gone up to 900+mA.
Yes. The full recommendation reads "This time round, we’re recommending a 2.5A adapter if you want to connect power-hungry USB devices to the Raspberry Pi."
So I guess the assumption is the average person won't connect power-hungry USB devices to their Pi 3.