All the Prototype Shimano Parts from Whistler

any sign of the cranks?

side note, current saint tier launched in 2012. i hope this long development cycle for the imminent launch doesn't mean the next saint grouppo will launch in 2040

I've got a few things that come to mind scrolling these pics, and I'm curious what others think - 

• Is Shimano off the back because they aren't introducing wireless/electronic Saint when SRAM just launched XX DH AXS?  I get that some peeps don't like electronics, but XX DH is the obvious comparison to make, and it seems like Shimano is setting themselves up to be at a disadvantage when you consider ease of setup, clean cockpit look. 
• No clutch. Di2 XT/XTR have racked up a reputation for being loud and dropping chains at the chainring since they seem to cause some extra chain flailing. The solution has been OChain's (ironic) and/or chain guides, which feels like a step back when we've been running no guides with Transmission for a few years now. Personally, I don't really care how smooth/fast/crips a DH drivetrain shifts, I just don't want my bike sounding like a toolbox getting chucked down the hill or my chain dropping. 
• I'll say it, the gold levers look tacky. Do we think the brakes are production colors, or just proto to draw some attention? 
• Do we think the new brakes will be as or more powerful than other brakes out there? I'm also not buying that the stamped 220mm rotors work that well based on some riders running 3rd party rotors this seasons (not necessarily with the new brakes, but with XTRs or a mixed lever/caliper setup).

So it's a 2 piece caliper that's bolted together with two bolts (to the maven's 4)? Interesting that it has the bridge above the pads, what does that do in this case? Obviously it's supposed to beef it up, I'm just wondering how it does that. I guess the pad retention bolt helps with that? 

The most impressive thing to me, just looking at XX DH, is how tucked the derailleur is. Maybe it's just me, but seeing that on the demo at my LBS was impressive. Comparing XX DH to current saint... saint just looks so OLD. 

This whole no clutch thing seems to be about making the suspension move more freely, no? However shimano had that clutch on/off switch from the beginning.... did anyone really turn it off and think it was noticeably better? If they wanted to do the dual spring thing, did they still have to get rid of the clutch and switch? Just seems like kind of an own goal. 

Wireless has a lot of advantages (ergonomic flexibility, easy to work on and install, etc), and it has some disadvantages (weight, cost).  Why not just make Saint wireless and Zee cabled?  But this is why shimano has lost like all the market share... too little, too late, over and over. No one actually cares about cues or whatever, people want shiny fancy shit. Sram delivers that, shimano doesn't. 

For the current saint brakes, the calipers are beefed up but they actually have the same size pistons as XT and XTR - just a slightly different servowave ramp built into the lever. 

If the new saint brakes get released and it turns out that they also have the exact same size pistons as XTR, I'll be very disappointed in Shimano. 

We have waited far too long for these saint brakes to end up having 5% more power than XTR.