Interesting. I learnt on a UAS and finals were called when you were straight in / lined up on the runway (height 400ft).
problem though with the size of circuits lots of people fly, finals could be anything from 1000ft up and 5 miles out.....
However I have used it ever since (25 years) and nobody has ever said anything. If I am flying a straight in approach I call long finals when I begin the descent from circuit height