First of all, anyone who want to invest $25-$50 in hardware wallet has to wonder if he really needs it? Some start crypto trading, do it for a month, lose all their money and are no longer interested in crypto, they do not need such a device at all.
On the other hand, if there is a serious intention to make a long-term investment, I do not see how a $50 investment can be unnecessary or a bad move. Of course there are those who suggest some cheaper solutions (home made cold storage), and personally I do not mind, in the end, protection is the most important, no matter how it is realized.
For some people even $50 means a lot of money, so it should be understood that some still claim that hardware wallets are too expensive for them. But that will surely change in the future as the competition gets bigger, so anyone who wants to be able to secure their storage and transactions will be able to do so.
I would add that we currently have 2 manufacturers who definitely enjoy the highest reputation among users. In my opinion as Ledger user for years (Nano S&X) these devices are on the top on my list.
Yes, you are very right. If the hardware wallet is stolen, it will be difficult or not possible to get access to the private key and seed phrase by the pilferer .
That is not entirely true, and it depends on the wallet and wallet setup. Vulnerability that is detected in Trezor hardware wallets enables one who comes into physical possession of such device to extract seed if user is not set passphrase (at least 37 characters).
Read more about this here :
Trezor&Keepkey - Unfixable Seed Extraction - A practical and reliable attack! More good info about hardware wallets :
Hardware walletsThe article is informative. That means, passphrase can futher protect your cryptocurrencies. Like the Trezor used as an example, if it is stolen, but you have already set up the passphrase, the theif will be unable to access your wallet unless he knows the phrase. Wallet owner is the only one that can reveal the passphrase.