I came across this tutorial for PiFi which is a very slick shell around OpenWrt with an Android and IOS app to configure it that runs on a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5.
Very cool implementation. Wondering if any other developers have looked at it or played with it. The current image uses 23.05.2 for RP4 and Snapshot 24.1 for RP5.
The apps look like they could be the game changer here if you could use it to configure OpenWrt on more supported routers. The original "Google On" app that configured the OnHub routers was a game changer in the day.
This is where I see great future potential with OpenWrt development if this kind of app is adopted by router manufacturers. OpenWrt's relative complexity has been a barrier to entry for the general consumer, but a smooth app setup... wow.
Update: PiFi does not support a variety of USB dongles. It currently only supports dongles with the RTL8832bu chip. It's currently setup so that you buy a kit that includes a microSD card and a dongle together and then use the apps to set it up to use as a travel router. It's not an all-purpose app to set up OpenWrt.