Geez, it's been a long while since I posted anything new. I've seen a trickle of info coming from 2021 Host Milano, thanks primarily to the german Espresso TV youtube channel. They did a short interview with Daniele Berenbruch, who is the partner of Andrew Meo of Rocket Espresso. They didn't bring Rocket to the show directly this year and instead are showcasing this new spin off called Stone-Espresso. I was surprised at the tech they are using in these machines which is unlike any Rocket builds that I've seen. Pricing seems competitive, unfortunately no specifics on availability.

Here's the company website - https://www.stone-espresso.com/

And the youtube interview:
Cheers, Jodie

This is pretty cool, looks like it packs a lot of functionality into a tiny package (9" wide!). The swappable panels are a bit gimmicky, but beyond that it seems like a solid machine at a competitive price. $1200 would put it at the low end of HX machines and only a little more than the most expensive SBDUs.

I think we'll see more and more machines with electrically heated groupheads, both for temp stability and warm-up time. I do wonder about long-term longevity/servicability - that coiled thermosyphon looks like it would be a bear to descale if it ever fully clogs and it has a lot more proprietary bits than E61 clones.