A few videos with information trickling in. I haven't done my own digging but it looks like retailers and reviewers will have hardware in their hands within the next week or so.
The first reaction seems like a mixed bag. Some grateful to see the Kronos come back from the dead. Some infer the feature set and are disappointed the new Kronos doesn't appear to be revolutionary enough.
I have no information, but I think the negative reaction needs to be tempered by a more complete rundown of what the new Kronos can do. If not at launch, sometime within its lifetime.
Kronos so far has had such longevity because the platform is software friendly. There is a lot that can be done with more or less off-the-shelf hardware. Expanding various pieces in speedbunp updates is possible due to internal modularity like SSD or any other pluggable components. Kronos's previous architecture (and probably current) leans heavily on the main CPU. Therefore, the system is CPU bound which limits how many of anything can run simultaneously. Effects, engines, etc. Addressing this bottleneck can take what was old and make it new again. There may be some welcome subtle evolutionary improvements above the foundation.
I'm interested to follow where they are taking Kronos in the weeks to come.
Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R