Is it well supported by the kernel and upstream? Or are devs going to be left twisting in the wind like nearly every other offbrand ARM SBC?

I don't have to worry about getting even my freakin' 12-yo Raspberry Pi 1 going with newer software than it was originally built to handle. But the Chinese Gooseberry Pi that seemed like such a bargain on AliExpress, esp. considering the price-performance ratio, is a complete crapshoot.

It's pretty amazing what the Raspberry Pi Foundation has achieved in terms of software support and platform longevity in a world seemingly dedicated to bedroom experiments that are bound to eventually end up in a drawer or landfill. I'm old enough to remember the Gumstix and SheevaPlug, and those had these problems too.