What was the point of the "New" 3DS?

[Nuvendil]

It's just part of how they do things. Every handheld gets a revision that provides some improvements to form factor and/or performance and experience. The Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advanced SP, and DSi all were the exact same kinda deal to varying degrees. It extends the life cycle, allows those who want the improvements to get them, and let them sell the console to some new people who may have been on the fence.