As far as I'm concerned, the only real market for this is as an upgraded Nest Hub hardware. It's not really competitive as a tablet (go to Samsung or Apple for that), but it doesn't really do anything differentiated, either.
If it is indeed the next gen of what would have been the Nest Hub Max, then this is what the first gen of that product should have been. The detachable tablet is a great idea, as is building a speaker into the base. It would be compelling if the MSRP was $349 or so, but not $499. For that amount, I could just buy two Nest Hub Maxes, or a quite nice iPad (or nice Samsung Android tablet).
At $329 the entry level iPad is a great deal. I agree this would be a killer at $350 as it includes a stand…but $500 gets you an iPad and $170 left in your pocket for accessories
If it is indeed the next gen of what would have been the Nest Hub Max, then this is what the first gen of that product should have been. The detachable tablet is a great idea, as is building a speaker into the base. It would be compelling if the MSRP was $349 or so, but not $499. For that amount, I could just buy two Nest Hub Maxes, or a quite nice iPad (or nice Samsung Android tablet).