If a memory allocations fails with strict mode then you'll get a null pointer returns and some kind of crash or panic (in code that doesn't handle it properly).
If it fails with the default mode the whole process will get killed by the OS. Is that really much better?
I don't think it's as simple as that. Killing a program can have unintended consequences too, e.g. corrupting files they were in the middle of writing.
If it fails with the default mode the whole process will get killed by the OS. Is that really much better?