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I've found that as long as the bootloader can be unlocked and I can install a custom ROM, there's virtually no reason to obtain root. GrapheneOS is good enough on its own that I've had no desire to use root.

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Some things are difficult to do without root depending on the ROM. Accessing displays' highest brightness mode at will, using a file manager that can actually see and manipulate every file on the device, using custom gesture utilities, altering over-underscan settings, undervolting the SoC, etc.

When people say "root", they usually mean "unlock the bootloader". "A device I can root" fundamentally means "a device whose bootloader can be unlocked".

Though, Google banning unlocked devices from using Google Pay was a really user-hostile decision.

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