So... what's the OS situation? From a glance at https://github.com/mecha-org/linux -> https://github.com/mecha-org/linux/commits/imx/lf-6.12.20/ it looks like they're starting from a 6mo-old kernel (6.12.20 vs current LTS 6.12.67 and current stable 6.18.7). Is there any reason to expect upstreaming or even just consistent updates, or is this yet another device that will ship with an old-ish kernel and never get updated again?

This is why I went with a Hackberry Pi CM5 [1]. I insert the CM5 I want to, and there's that.

It comes with a good, proven BB keyboard. No option for GPIO pins or gamepad module, but I don't need such anyway. Instead, what I have in it is a USB hub which fits nicely in the side.

Unfortunately, the RPi CM I had lying around were CM4 with eMMC or CM5 w/o WiFi/BT. So I bought a new CM5, with 16 GB RAM. That was end of last summer. I'm not sure I'd bother now, given the RAM prices which surely affected CM5 prices. Actually, I should probably sell those for profit, since they're not doing anything.

[1] https://github.com/ZitaoTech/HackberryPiCM5