Re why not SO-101: the article has a footnote about this; I actually bought the SO-101 as well! I want to integrate it into the same setup so I can switch depending on task.
Somewhat surprisingly the xarm was actually much faster to arrive; I got it within 2 days of ordering. I don’t have a 3D printer and getting the SO-101 from the vendor I ordered it at took almost 4 weeks. So partially it just came down to what I had access to more quickly.
Second point is reliability: I think the SO-101 is cool but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t break more quickly than the xarm. I wanted something that’s going to last a long time without headaches. And these industrial arms are really mature hardware wise now.
Hope this helps!