Windows phones were really solid, OS was very user friendly and stable. I personally didn’t feel the “app gap” that a lot of others complained about but, I use my phone for browsing, calls & text. If I recall correctly it was also ahead of the curve with PWAs, integrated them really well. And price/performance was good on some models like the Lumia 650.
I use Olauncher, pretty similar to Niagara and is FOSS. https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher
I had this hunt earlier this year myself; ended up going with the Acer Nitro 5 15. Its fully user upgradeable with DDR4 RAM, two m2 drives and even a 2.5 in drive. And it has a TB3 port for charging and works with external graphics as well. Everything worked under linux right out of the box.
Yea I’ve got the same GPU and its normally very capable of high settings with everything I normally play but Starfield is kind of a bear it seems.
I was so surprised to have this running day one, just had to switch to proton hotfix and it was off to the races!
I don’t blame anyone, there is no need to personally see the circus that is our country currently. Watch the circus from stands unless you want to be a part of it.