>As soon as you start worrying about power, or GPIO, then it starts to get a bit messy.
7nm-10nm X86 CPUs from Intel and AMD are nearly as efficient as a R-PI, IPC for IPC, and GPIOs can be extended on them via USB in a standardized manner if desired.
Most people buy R-Pis to run linux, python, a web server or turn on some LEDs. Linux, python and web servers can be run on low power X86 machines, and LEDs can be turned on by an Arduino or R-PI 2040 microcontroller.
People stuck to using R-Pis out of comfort and inertia because it was the only thing they heard about and it was the best thing at the time when X86 was not competing in the space, but today it's no longer the only option or the best option. People need to start exploring the other options.