A bit more on the next release...
The reason it may be late is because it is so big. They have crammed a lot into it, and may have bitten off more than they can chew. Viit is off to work, while Ptolemy is finishing up the renderings. Later, they expect to test it and release it. To me, this causes concern that they may not do a sufficient job of testing before releasing the product.
Regardless, I will lap it up as soon as I can, because this looks like it will be an important and pivotal release.