The Banana Pi BPI-M7 single board computer is equipped with up to 32GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, and features an M.2 2280 socket for one NVMe SSD, three display interfaces (HDMI, USB-C, MIPI DSI), two camera connectors, dual 2.5GbE, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, a few USB ports, and a 40-pin GPIO header for expansion.
The Debian installer can be pre-seeded and be automated. You can use cloud-init for non cloud installs but why would you? Preseed or use fai and let your config system handle the rest.
I get that you love this board and think that “the establishment” is evil. But you come off as someone not having the knowledge to back your assumptions.
Sometimes this will be the right board, sometimes a Pi is better. And sometimes 2-3 microcontrollers are a better fit. But the choice should not be based on telemetry in an optional imager, or the fact that your headless setup requires editing of config files.