They have stated that they are keeping the brand and tech alive…but the fact that they killed the existing product line w/o new products seems curious.
The obvious inference is that SRAM wants to introduce a power-based pedal system, but no everything they do is re: component companies is about power meters. Sometimes they just acquire companies that have a good rep but are available (Rock Shox, Zipp, Avid, etc)
If they bought Time pedals with the hope of developing a power-based pedal, they may have made a mistake. See Wahoo and Speedplay as an example. Now SRAM has a helluva lot more experience running a component company than Wahoo, so that is a good thing.
As for advantages of Time vs. Shimano, back in the 90’s they were clearly superior to Shimano in the mud, etc. But once the redesigned SPD came out, they lost much of that advantage…and Crank Brothers offered similar benefits. I rode ATAC’s for awhile, but eventually tired of the feeling that my foot was “sliding off” the pedal (a common complaint of ATAC pedals). I haven’t heard of Time having any great market presence in quite awhile.
Will be interesting to follow…first to the market with a reasonably priced power-based MTB platform will have a massive * market advantage.