Thing is, regular Linux distros are most prone to breakage when it comes to updates - especially Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distros[1]. My elderly mum is non-technical and has been a Linux user for the past decade, and she had Xubuntu, Mint and Zorin - all of which ran fine until update broke it (and this is just a bog standard DELL Optiplex desktop with an Intel iGPU). So I switched her to Aurora a couple of years ago and it's been rock solid.
This is why I recommend immutable/atomic distros for newbies, especially if the person installing it doesn't want to be a 24x7 tech support for that user.
I would be very surprised if Debian stable ever broke anything. I am on Debian testing and none of the "standard software" - browser, office suite, image editing, zoom - has broken in many years.
Sure, if you stick to stock Debian repositories you should be fine. However this guarantee is gone if you're using proprietary kernel modules, like say nVidia drivers - which is not an uncommon scenario.
Also, the /usr merge thing has caused some issues for users, requiring manual intervention[1]. Not a big deal for techy users familiar with the terminal, but this isn't something end users might want to deal with.
Image based immutable distros don't have issues like this.
This is why I recommend immutable/atomic distros for newbies, especially if the person installing it doesn't want to be a 24x7 tech support for that user.
[1] https://ounapuu.ee/posts/2025/02/05/done-with-ubuntu/