I think you slightly misunderstood the word "preference" (or is it me? Idk)
Let me give you an example : Player A has been playing osu! for 3 years using mouse. Then he heard of this so-called tablet that is better than mouse from someone. He decides to try it out for a while. But he's just way too convenient with his mouse compared to the tablet he just bought. In the end, he decides to continue playing osu! with his mouse as he PREFERS mouse over tablet.
The example above is what I think "preference" is. Preference is like a choice when you already know the advantages and disadvantages of each choices. So, when someone says "it's just preference", that doesn't mean that tablet and mouse are the same because in the end, it comes back to the players themselves. Some people just like playing with mouse for various reasons, and even if they know that tablet is better, they still choose mouse because of those "various reasons", and you can say that they prefer mouse over tablet.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
TL:DR
I actually agree that tablet is slightly or way better than mouse, but it's still a preference. In the end, you have to choose between the two and if you choose mouse, that means you prefer mouse and vice versa
Let me give you an example : Player A has been playing osu! for 3 years using mouse. Then he heard of this so-called tablet that is better than mouse from someone. He decides to try it out for a while. But he's just way too convenient with his mouse compared to the tablet he just bought. In the end, he decides to continue playing osu! with his mouse as he PREFERS mouse over tablet.
The example above is what I think "preference" is. Preference is like a choice when you already know the advantages and disadvantages of each choices. So, when someone says "it's just preference", that doesn't mean that tablet and mouse are the same because in the end, it comes back to the players themselves. Some people just like playing with mouse for various reasons, and even if they know that tablet is better, they still choose mouse because of those "various reasons", and you can say that they prefer mouse over tablet.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
TL:DR
I actually agree that tablet is slightly or way better than mouse, but it's still a preference. In the end, you have to choose between the two and if you choose mouse, that means you prefer mouse and vice versa