The commercial success of this phone all comes down to one thing: it has to reach people who are not specifically waiting for a HWKB phone since years like us. In other words, the company producing this phone cannot afford to question the relevance of all marketing arguments based on "new and shiny". It may be silly, but it would be risky to fight two battles at the same time (keyboard and marketing blabbering). This phone will probably sell better if it is high end and expensive, than average and inexpensive.

Later on, if this works, maybe we can hope for a smaller form factor, lower specs, and a lower price tag. Unfortunately, I doubt this could be the first step. The money invested in designing a HWKB phone in 2018 is certainly huge, and the risk even bigger, so securing many orders is probably the best bet for now.