True. This is why the general recommendation is typically to buy used. That way, they don't get additional revenue from the sale of a new phone, and it also decreases e-waste.
(Sure, the revenue may be a drop in the bucket, but it's still something.)
Lotta good recommendations here. If you get GrapheneOS, you could get any keyboard (including GBoard) and turn off its network access at the app level (as well as sensors and other permissions), which would make virtually any keyboard privacy-friendly.
"I apologize. I wasn't familiar with your game..."