BrowserS? I can only think of one (and it isn't Safari).

That solves the browser.

What about colima vm for docker? Intellij, gradle daemon, android studio, xcode, electron apps, android virtual device, slack, spring boot apps, iMovie, Davinci Resolve, python notebooks?

Phones now have more than 8gb of RAM

Do you use everything together? My opinion is that if you'd use any of that seriously you buy the device that let it run correctly. Opening a multi-module project in Android Studio that requires something like 6GB or ram for the index, then running it inside a 3GB emulator on an 8GB laptop is just asking for problem. Be mindful of your RAM usage and select the suitable amount for your use cases.

If you're doing software development then you really should buy the Pro.

The limiting factor won't be the memory but the thermal throttling.

Of course I do, I have a 16 and 32 pros as well.