> The fairphone 5 [...] still clearly misses the mark

How so? Comparing [1] and [2] shows the geekbench scores between the fairphone 5 and the pixel 7 are pretty similar.

> missing some fundamental quality of life stuff that other phones have offered, usually for years

I'd argue that statement is backwards: the non-mainstream phones have been offering quality of life stuff that the mainstream phones have abandoned years ago, namely user-expandable storage via microsd cards and user-replaceable battery.

[1] https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/1891321

[2] https://browser.geekbench.com/android_devices/google-pixel-7