I think we are rapidly reaching a crossroads with the whole XIAO Ecosystem
It is moving from a Makers Toy to an embeded product.
My problem is i dont think the XIAO needs to be an embeded product, because if you are embeding a product, you can just put the chip right on the circuitboard. XIAO is a Makers Toy… a prototype tool at best, so if what i say is true, the XIAO Ecosystem is orbiting further and further away from its center of mass.
Litterally it is on an eliptical plain, half the time it is close, but more often that not, it is far afield
The bottom side power pads is basicly a need of the embeded surface mounting… which is not maker friendly, along with the castalated pins. It seems more and more, if you want to be a Maker or a toy the better way is to abandon XIAO and go back to generic evaluation boards. They are far more accessable and all the GPIO are lead out