This is definitely like the Nest in that it's an "entry" into the home, clearly it has ambitions to be more than just a router.
On the surface, a $200 router doesn't even make sense. 99% of the time congestion is probably not at the router/Wi-Fi level (any 5GHz wifi router should do) but somewhere upstream (ISP or WAN latency.) If you have a very large property there are plenty of routers already on the market with good external antennas. Number of people who think "man the wifi in my house sucks" is very small.
Clearly they're selling this as a boutique product (similar to Nest) with the hopes of expanding it to perform other tasks, probably similar to Amazon Echo. Heck it even looks like the Echo.
Clearly, you don't live in a city. 2.4Ghz on any channel is nearly unusable in my apartment (5Ghz fairs better I think because it penetrates obstructions less easily). My laptop can currently detect >50 wifi networks.
On the surface, a $200 router doesn't even make sense. 99% of the time congestion is probably not at the router/Wi-Fi level (any 5GHz wifi router should do) but somewhere upstream (ISP or WAN latency.) If you have a very large property there are plenty of routers already on the market with good external antennas. Number of people who think "man the wifi in my house sucks" is very small.
Clearly they're selling this as a boutique product (similar to Nest) with the hopes of expanding it to perform other tasks, probably similar to Amazon Echo. Heck it even looks like the Echo.