Previously it was much more obvious which model to reach for depending on your use case because they had the mini and nano naming conventions.

Getting rid of that seems like a step back. Just a personal nit though.

I've seen buzz about this elsewhere as well but to me effort levels seem more like spend limits disguised with another word. I don't think they should even exist.

My guide was to pick the best model on "High" for 99% of tasks.

The naming convention is bizarre and doesn't really mean anything to normies. Trying to pick between "Sol" and "Terra" is like asking the average person if they want the Max or the Ultra chip.