I've been testing Stage Manager since the first developer beta of Ventura and it did feel awkward, as it had no keyboard control, and I feel slower when pointing and clicking to switch apps.
But after adding support for it in my rcmd app (https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd), and tuning yabai's grid a bit, I found it quite useful for my workflow.
Here's a video on how I use Stage Manager with the keyboard shortcuts in rcmd, if you'd like to see if the same workflow would be useful for you: https://youtu.be/dlwjSf7aIy8
I'm also giving out some promo codes for rcmd to give people a chance to try this functionality and see if they like it:
Not to diminish the work put into making this workflow easier to use, but you can completely replicate this workflow (and then some) with out of the box macOS tooling by creating an "Open <xyz.app>" script in Shortcuts, moving them into the Quick Actions folder and then jumping to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services and then assigning key combinations to launch Shortcuts.app Quick Actions.
For sure you can. I had this workflow with manually added keybindings through many methods over the years: skhd, Hammerspoon, BetterTouchTool etc.
I just found that the functionality is useful enough to warrant an app that can dynamically assign these hotkeys based on the apps I use.
For example I change browsers often to test new additions. And because I have rcmd-B set to focus/launch/hide my current browser app, I can keep my muscle memory even after switching from Safari to Firefox. In rcmd I just press rcmd-ralt-B to reassign that hotkey, in previous workflows this involved editing a specific file, or opening a preferences window and finding the right setting to change.
The experimental window switching/opening using Right Option is also something very useful and really hard to replicate using default macOS tools.
Mac App Store app, click your user name in the lower left corner. Now the upper right corner has a link button "Redeem Gift Card". Click that, enter the code.
But after adding support for it in my rcmd app (https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd), and tuning yabai's grid a bit, I found it quite useful for my workflow.
Here's a video on how I use Stage Manager with the keyboard shortcuts in rcmd, if you'd like to see if the same workflow would be useful for you: https://youtu.be/dlwjSf7aIy8
I'm also giving out some promo codes for rcmd to give people a chance to try this functionality and see if they like it:
EDIT: Dang, you guys are fast. Here are 10 more codes, and if you want more, there's also a Twitter giveaway here: https://twitter.com/lowtechguys/status/1584596195326177281