I used to be pretty stubborn about wanting a stock experience especially after the bloated sluggish mess that was TouchWiz but they’ve really turned things around.
There’s a lot of One UI features that I take for granted now (same thing I also hear from friends who switched to a Pixel) and it also looks way better than stock after Google did the whole Material 3 change. The main annoyance I have is with the default launcher and keyboard but those can easily be changed to third party alternatives anyways.
I agree with you but a ton of people don’t so I think this is a good compromise. Give all the people who want a wide unwieldy, slim foldable for those who want it and charge them the premium for it. Just don’t touch my pen capable, comfortably one-handed thick and narrow Fold.