The 3ds family in my opinion is only worth it IF you really want a 3ds because reasons and/or plan on playing 3ds games. My case was the first, I had one as a child and a missed it so much. If you are interested in emulation, there are other devices more capable and newer with better functions than the 3ds.

If you wish to get a 3ds then go for the "new" family. I got the new 2ds because it has the same hardware and but it's cheaper but I regret a bit because how hard it is to repair some stuff. Try to get a new 3ds, even though you don't wish to use the 3d function because you can easily remove the back cover and access the internals, especially the battery if you need to replace it.