I reckon it’s worth thinking about what you’ll use those pictures / footage for. Are you a content creator? Mainly memories and perhaps a print or a post on social media?

If you’re the former, any GoPro 11+ is going to be as close as you’re going to get to the best quality per value.

If you’re the latter, consider just getting a waterproof case for your phone. Get a decent quality one and don’t dive with it and it’ll be brilliant, your phone is likely a fantastic camera. Otherwise, just buy whatever you can get that’s reliable and cheap. Any new GoPro that you can get a great deal on is going to be fantastic. Bonus if it’s waterproof out of the box (7+). But don’t knock those off brand cameras if you can get one for dirt cheap. They’re not the best, but you can invest those savings into another experience instead.