So I bought a pair of these for this season and I actually dig them, but I won't pretend they're for everyone and it really depends on what kind of boot fit you prefer. My thoughts on them so far are something like this:
After a few days of riding in them I will say they are extremely comfortable and very warm compared to a more conventional boot.
The boot itself looks and operates a lot like a snowboard boot, but they're definitely stiffer and more rigid than a real snowboard boot. The way you convey weight and control to your skis works a bit differently compared to a regular boot, but I was actually surprised at the amount of control I had despite not having a hard shell around my foot. Everything runs through the chassis frame that runs along the back of your leg/achilles.
It's cut a bit higher than a typical boot, and I suspect the frame/control is why. After the first couple of turns I didn't really notice the boot at all, and everything felt pretty natural. They are also highly adjustable, and it took several days for me to really get them dialed in. You can adjust the stiffness of the frame if you want more/less flex.
Popping the boots out of the frame and walking around is nice, but leaving the chassis clipped into your bindings is awkward unless you put them on a rack. Leaving them just sitting in the snow like the OP pic is dumb since the skis can just take off without brakes. You can still walk around in the boots with the chassis attached, which was fine for short walks, but longer walks you'll absolutely want to take the chassis off. Putting the boots back into the chassis is also awkward if they're still clipped into your skis, and I haven't decided yet if that's something you can get used to or not.
With the way they fit, an Apex boot frame will likely (but not always) be a size larger than a normal boot, which means you'll potentially need a re-mount.
Overall, they felt good and performed pretty well as an all-mountain boot, but I admittedly haven't taken them into the park yet.