That doesn't surprise me in relation to a 'modern' toaster, but I doubt that is the case with my ancient one. I say that because it does seem to work by sensing temperature, rather than by timing - since if I put a piece of frozen bread in it, it pops up when toasted to roughly the same extent as would be the case with non-frozen toast (with the same 'setting').
I don't know, I have never bothered to pull one apart, but I would expect the bi-metal ones to have a separate heater element/ resistor, rather than the toasting element - which is why they are inconsistent between the first session and subsequent ones, the bi-metal will still be warm. Electronic, means they will heat for a reasonably consistent time.