Plenty of lever machines don’t have a built in pressure gauge - Olympia Cremina, Londinium, Profitech. In fact, most lever machines don’t. That said, inclusion of a group pressure gauge was one reason I went for the Evo. And, let’s face it, an extra $35 isn’t exactly a deal breaker is it and it gives potential buyers a choice. Some buyers might want to go for the bluetooth transducer add on and I guess such buyers would be hacked off if the analogue pressure gauge was factory fit.