I ride a lot and am reasonably fit, but I'm in my 60's, and both knees and my left hip are shot... so no cranking for me. I need an actual granny gear, as I much prefer to ride it if possible, no matter how slow, than get off and walk. I'm not racing, and don't care about how fast I can walk, I'd just rather stay riding if I could.
My new 27.5" wheeled bike came as 1x12 and 34/50 was not low enough, so I swapped the 34 for a 30, and that is ok. But if I could of had it as a 2x10 with 32/22 chain-rings and 11/36 cassette, I would have jumped at it. We ride our 2x bikes as if they are 1x, only dropping to the 22 when it's really steep, then shifting back to the 32 the moment you clear the pinch. The one thing that I do love about the 1x is being able to use a front shifter (thanks Plank) to operate the dropper.
Anyway, for me now, it all about staying uninjured enough to ride into old age as long as possible... which means spinning, not cranking.