This actually is the case for a few other competing Apple Silicon support projects that came and went prior to Asahi. Assuming you have a way to load code into EL2[0], it's fairly easy to bring up the main CPU and USB, plug in a bunch of external peripherals before boot, and say you got Linux running on Apple chips. Only true in the most literal case.

In contrast, Asahi is specifically doing all the challenging RE work that typically gets passed over in favor of flashy headlines. If anyone can get to 95%, it's them.

[0] Prior to the M1 Mac, Apple did not allow anyone but themselves to load EL2 code. The ability to load other OSes on Apple Silicon Macs is, strangely enough, an allowed use-case. Prior to this we had to rely on once-in-a-decade bootrom security bugs.