I don't quite understand how this system works. If you can somehow restore the keys when your hardware wallet gets destroyed, at least two questions immediately come to my mind. First, if you can actually do that, why would you ever need a hardware wallet at all? And, second, if you can restore the keys without the wallet, why can't someone else do essentially the same without having access to the wallet (i.e. steal your coins)?
What am I missing in this "grand scheme of things"?
Everything has a certain risk involved, but
it's simply impossible for Trezor as company to just discard the recovery seed and rely only on the device when it comes to the security. If something happens with the device, and can't get repaired, then the coins are gone, so something has to be done to recover your coins. Otherwise people won't bother to buy it, which I can of course understand. I would never put my entire trust in a single device that at any time could corrupt or just stop working. Once set up, the advantage is that you can use your device to transact with others without having to worry about any form of malware and stuff. As long as you just stick to writing down the recovery seed on a piece of paper, and hide it somewhere (offline) so that no one other than yourself can find it, it's probably one of the best security measures
And how is that different from using a web wallet?
Or does it mean that they won't be able to restore the key without the seed? If so, I still don't see much sense in all this hassle with hardware wallets. Could you restore the key yourself without Trezor sticking around? If you can, how is this hardware wallet essentially different from a paper wallet and why all this fuss then? If you can't, what will happen if this company is gone for good? If device breaks and Trezor is no longer available, your coins will be lost?