I’m really excited that I can finally unveil the new Prusa CORE One! Not just here, with text and a 10-minute video deep dive, but also live at FormNext in Frankfurt. So if you’re visiting, stop by our booth at Hall...
Honestly this is better than I expected from Prusa. They are still playing catch-up but not as far behind as I expected them to end up with their first consumer XY offering. It's till expensive for what you get (Prusa). It's too slow compared to competitors. It's a bit small for the price. They need a new hotend setup. But it definitely maintains the Prusa serviceability. Their MMU is still kind of a DIY joke versus the competitors.
This is not their first core XY and they redesigned the hotend with the PrusaXL and MK4. As far as I've seen, they are the only printer company using a strain gauge in the hotend for bed leveling, that they also use for detecting clogs while printing. Also, the new printer's price is comparible to the similar model from Bambu with a metal frame and enclosed print bed (X1C). And, as you pointed out, they always maintained the same serviceability (I'll add upgradability). Therefore, I definitely don't agree that they are playing catch up.
I think it's honestly a bit embarrassing after reading through this. It states that their "main engineering focus when designing this" was "the exoskeleton, a small chamber, and a platform for the future." The exoskeleton is just a rectangular frame that nobody is going to give a shit about while printing and the small chamber means a small build plate along with it.
The main feature they seem to be hyping up is the fact that it has a vent in the body so that you don't have to crack the door open. This does feel a bit lame with the Bambu, but not anything I really care about at the end of the day.
I've said it before that I do like Prusa represents as a company, but they're really behind the ball at this price point.