Thanks, you give a good description of the situation many of us are/were in. Hobbyists, students, makers…using SketchUp in the workshop or the backyard, on a job site… with poor or no direct internet connection.
Free might be a good addition to the SketchUp ecosystem but definitely not a replacement for a desktop version. It doesn’t even replace SketchUp viewer as it doesn’t works on iOS devices.
I discovered SketchUp as a free version way back when google got a hold of it and I loved it, taught it and recommended it ever since. I am now a Pro user in the building game and I saw Free as great tool to take models to the job site on the iPad and being able to do a bit more than what the viewer can do. I got quickly disappointed 
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