That’s fair. It seems like pop_os is trying to be a DE, the rest of the parts (kernel, drivers, packaging system of choice etc) are just a means to that end.
I wouldn’t consider pop for its kernel selection and immediately want to install AwesomeWM or something. For that I would just go straight Debian.
Looks like their attempt at a video streaming app, separate from youtube.
https://www.floatplane.com/discover