> I think the headline is problematic because it suggests the raw photos aren't very good and thus need processing

That’s not how I read either the headline or the article at all. I read it as “this is a ‘raw photo’ fresh off your camera sensor, and this is everything your camera does behind the scenes to make that into something that we as humans recognize as a photo of something.” No judgements or implications that the raw photo is somehow wrong and something manufacturers should eliminate or “game”