“many people”? Almost no one cared when they bought Pixel is more like it.
Many people bought Pixel because they saw it in a store or online. A few people bought Pixel because it was supposed to represent the leading edge of Android and it still does. Almost no one bought Pixel for AOSP reasons or even know what AOSP is.
> Many people bought Pixel because they saw it in a store or online
That's usually reserved for iPhones and Samsungs. Pixels have a tiny marketshare compared to Apple and Samsung. The GP is right when they say a significant portion of buyers bought a Pixel believing Google's claim that it was the 'purest' Android experience since it was a reference AOSP device.