You're right, my point was a little lost in my long-winded answer. RAW files just give you more latitude after the fact, and editing can either really eek out

You're right, my point was a little lost in my long-winded answer. RAW files just give you more latitude after the fact, and editing can either really eek out the last 20% or allow the photographer to better express their "artistic vision" and achieve a look (eg split toning or color grading). All this worked before on jpegs even, but raw just closes the camera/smartphone gap a tad bit more - especially when it's easily available to everyone. You might be right that it's currently a niche, but if the UX improves, widespread adoption might happen.