I'm in two minds about it; I'm of a similar line of thinking as you in many respects (hinted as much previously), but also mindful that they need as many revenue streams as they can get.
And selling handsets is one of those streams, & selling well is more likely IMO if they have a way to stand out from a hw perspective (not just bq/sw/services).

Just depends on where their finances really are it right now. If you let something like TOH languish too much as "something you'll do later when you're doing much better";
Well, we know what often happens in those scenarios, even with much bigger footnotes in tech history...
But as mentioned they must constantly re-evaluate these things, I don't think it'll hold as much value (even if it's done much better than the 1st time) if Ara gets traction.