Yeah, I think that's it. Maybe it just needs some more "intuitive" software?
I'd like to see this sort of hardware built into a smart phone as a matter of course, I think the Infosec specialists would find it extremely useful.
I doubt tunable hardware will ever be integrated into phones, given certification regulations,but there are apps for tuning RTL-SDR over USB OTG from Android.
I don't really know why an RPi was used in this example as opposed to a cheap used laptop that already has screen, battery and decent USB.