It depends on what you're looking for. If you're doing hobbyist stuff, using Arduino libraries (or even Linux single-board computers) will get you a processor agnostic solution. However, if you're dealing with production in volume, using 95% of the capabilities of a 45 cent chip is much better than using 50% of the capabilities of a 2 dollar chip, and there's nothing that'll get you there besides dealing with hardware specific features (and therefore datasheets).
Volumes have to be very large to make up for R&D costs. For consumer stuff, maybe yes. In industry, it is quite normal to make <1000 pieces of some electronic instrument. In that case, optimizing on cents doesn't make sense.
