Do we need hardware wallets?
What about just putting Bitcoin Core with Sparrow, Spectre or Blockstream Green on a fresh, Linux laptop with an encrypted hard drive?
Only turn on for Bitcoin.
If not, why not?
Discussion
No your computer can be hacked.. and your phone can be hacked with key stroke software and everything goes down the drain.. this is the none technical answer. Lol i thought the same but i played almost every Scenario and i get hacked evey time.. soooo get a hardware wallet.. in a hardware wallet your seed phrase never touches the internet
If you go that route you are probably better off just running Bitcoin core with nothing on top.
Who do mean by "we"?
With proper opsec habits you should be fine.
Hardware wallets are beneficial for new people because as long as they can read and follow simple backup instructions the worst they can do is dox themselveves. It removes a lot of potential for human error.
(Not all hardware wallets are worth a dam. I like coldcard and jade.)