I did not notice anyone else mention the new line of Yamaha (non-arranger) keyboards, the Motif 6, 7 and 8 (relating to the number of keys). While the keyboards do not sport chord recognition, they do have autoaccompaniment features (e.g., sophisticated arpeggiation). They may also presage features for future Yamaha arrangers.

The Motifs come with 85MB Ram, and read Yamaha and Akai sample formats. This latter is an important feature missing from the Yamaha 9000 series. The keyboards automatically map samples to the keyboard and provide a new level of integration of audio and midi (maybe similar to that of advanced computer-based sequencers. There will also be an mLan option for faster and more convenient MIDI and audio transfer.

Now that we know the next generation of Yamaha arrangers will have a wider range of styles, we can focus more on getting a more useful sampler function and digital output.

Maybe that's because this is an "ARRANGER" discussion site ! (no offence intended)