Yet the number of them I see in the wild each day is zero or one not counting the 8 Pro in my hand. So I think that data may be flawed. It’s a sea of Apple or Samsung.

Mint, Ubuntu have all pretty much worked out of the box for me

Actually Broadcoms fault not Apple. Pretty much every Ubuntu flavor I have used has the driver on the ISO and installs without issue.

As long as the phone works well I don’t worry too much about the bechmarks. I would rather use my phone for some years and enjoy the ride. I think at some point I just tired of chasing the latest shiny Pokemon and just try to enjoy what I have.

We shall see in a few years if I feel the same.