But as I have written - the option "To upgrade device only" means you have to buy the i1 Basic Pro 2!
So the "hardware only" in reality means to buy a whole new retail package (which of course includes the hardware AND the software)
I know this is confusing but I don't think there's anything devious going on here.
The software is available to anyone for free from the website. But you can't use it without a dongle, or an i1 that has the licensing internally (an internal dongle essentially). So the software doesn't work without the hardware.
If you have a pre-April 2011 i1 (let's say a higher level i1 like the Publish or Extreme) then you don't have i1Profiler software functionality. To get the new hardware and full software functionality, you need to purchase the Upgrade B option for $1699. If you've already purchased i1Profiler since it came out then you can get the new device (the i1BasicPro2 package) for $1199 ($500 less) (which has restricted software functionality) and transfer your existing software licensing to the new device and have full access to all the features in the software. So, you see, you're not really buying the full software functionally with that more affordable upgrade path. Plus you get all the new device accessories and goodies like the ColorChecker Proof and Minichecker.
I agree all of the options are confusing but, IMO, these are fair upgrade options for people. And of course, even ~10 year old Rev A i1Pros work pretty darn well in i1Profiler which is impressive.