The IDEAL for me would be:
1. AX8 hardware layout as it is, but with a screw plate exposed to upgrade memory, DSP, etc. for more simultaneous effects, longer loop times and multiple undos, etc.
2. Separate MIDI expansion module with an extra row of footswitch buttons, so can use 4 expression pedals and extra effect toggle buttons (don't need all buttons at once, but it avoids memory issues of which effect under which button- easier to develop muscle memory like in a legacy pedal board).
This would simplify the product line with AX8 next-gen being the flagship/only HW processor product with expansion options. And it would resolve the market positioning issues of flagship vs. junior product, studio vs more portable, etc... You sell the cheap version with a limited memory and DSP, then charge for memory and DSP upgrades (only a modest convenience premium on price, because must be sensitive to customers procuring direct from source and bypassing Fractal). Maybe put a sticker with a Fractal serial number on each DSP or memory module, tied to individual orders to avoid customers procuring cheaply and buying counterfit or incorrect products that are a hassle to troubleshoot. This would also give you more space to charge a hardware premium, but some customers would still take the risk and procure outside of Fractal- so what. The revenue model at some point should include a software subscription to pay for firmware upgrades, with new purchases getting a 1, 2, or 3 year entitlement etc. This also gives you a way to continue making money when people buy used units.
I'm sure some here would gripe like crazy about losing a perceived entitlement of free firmware updates... but at some point aligning the revenue model to where your effort is placed will enable greater customer satisfaction related to cheaper upgradeable hardware. When computers become easier to use by a wide audience and more stable for music applications, that is a major threat to the hardware market. Having a shift in customer expectation to pay for where the value is added- the intelligence embedded in the firmware- that makes an easier transition to a pure software business with commodity hardware parts. That will entail an anti-software-piracy strategy that must be cryptographically strong, tying hardware serial numbers to software license keys, and that creates it's own hassles... But your margins will be higher in that type of business too, but might have more headaches with hardware permutations in an open hardware market. You can take an intermediate approach to have a limited set of approved hardware permutations to manage dev/test and quality control.
Alright, enough rambling. Ex-product manager taking off his product manager hat. Time to go play guitar.