There's non flagship, and there's ex-flagship.
I'd much rather have an ex-flagship phone that, at the time, had what was considered one of the best cameras (actually pretty much all I care about).
That said, I'm looking forward to trying this out in about 5 years!
Written from my "new to me" pixel 6.
I had to fix my broken OnePlus 7t last year, with Lineage OS I don't miss a thing, except my bank app. For which I use an old Moto.
I used to be a flagship phone buyer all the time. But I now feel spending too much on a new phone is kind of a waste, as phones are getting too locked down to the users, and too open to the advertisers. I just want a phone where I can flash lineage OS, and done with it.
It's almost like buying hardware that are Linux friendly, a feat that was difficult once, now things are better. Really looking out for a Linux based phone that works
I'll be honest, I didn't feel much of a difference changing from my Pixel 2 to my Pixel 6. Actually, I liked my Pixel 2 more. Boy do I miss that back fingerprint sensor. As well as the squeeze feature. What a great design. Also, it cleanly fit in my pocket. Pixel 2 was peak Pixel if you ask me. (never tried the 3)
Really the only reason I ended up switching was because I had already replaced the lens on the rear camera after some dirt got into it and I had cracked that back glass while taking it apart. Not a big deal, but it felt like time to move on I guess. I definitely got excited about all the new features of 6 and then promptly never actually used any of them.