1) Companies are not in business to lose money
2) Dedicated cameras are increasingly pressed by the (very) sophisticated smartphone photographic technology. This is accelerated by the "snowball effect":
- The sheer volume of cell phone sales, and guaranteed repeat sales in future, enables/funds the progressive development of state-of-the-art sensor (and processing and software) tech for use in them.
- No camera maker will ever be able to order as many sensors as the cellphone companies, so they are a bit at the mercy of the resultingly high cost of paying for development and production of new sensor tech for their own cameras....and that limits the development of fast advances in their dedicated camera lines.
- Phones are small, handy, and convenient. And, when not viewed large or up very close, their output is....pretty. It's designed that way. And it's easy. And it's seductive. It's also marked by a whole lot of...sameness....but easy and pretty works really well for most people in most situations.
So, the more phones there are, the more advanced their tech becomes, and the further behind in technology the smaller photo systems (esp ones with smaller sensors), become.
How can the smaller sensored systems fight that? Well, they can do what OMS has, which is focus on what phones CAN'T do, and that's nature and wildlife, including long telephoto work. Or, they can do what Fuji has, which is make stylish cameras with a "cool" factor that works alongside the remaining advantages that dedicated systems still do have, to lure their audience. The OM3 was OMS's attempt to capture that market. And, the OM5II creeps in there also, even though it's not as "stylish" as the OM3. How will those play out? I have no idea; time will tell.
As to Panasonic? I think Panasonic has relegated M43 to the "only do what's necessary" pile. Is this smart? Given the encroachment from below (smartphones) and above (its L-mount system), if you think about it, what really are their options?
Panasonic has never been able to market a "stylish" body well. They've made some remarkably innovative untraditionally styled cameras over the years (the GMs, and, yes, even the S9) that were clearly engineering milestones. And they've made some great cameras that were kind of kludgy to look at (GX8), too, but were terrific in function...but none were either marketed properly, or just missed a little bit in important areas to capture raves, rather than criticism, of their good points vs whatever flaws they did have. And when you top that off with just the Panasonic/Lumix name lacking the the cachet that the "stylish" users find acceptable to walk around with, and you have...a problem.
Of course, in the video arena? No problem. But for photographers? Nope. And I know Panasonic is well aware of this, and I suspect it's one reason it strongly orients its products to the video users, not just the photography market.
Plus, when Panasonic has reacted to the criticisms, their next products in the same arena tend to be a bit lackluster. For instance: The GX8...great camera, but not svelte, and had that shutter issue. So, they backed off, went back to a cheaper, earlier form factor with a terrible EVF, and the older sensor...but they improved the shutter mechanism, and made it less expensive. And, they were rewarded with success, as it was in a friendly price point for most users, and it was the right size. (GX85). Going forward, they updated that with the 20MP sensor into the GX9....but still the same EVF, even less friendly grip, truly lackluster IBIS...in other words a more expensive version that was, to be honest with you, (having owned one) a disappointment. And, it clearly did not sell well, as they discontinued it (while still offering the GX85!).
So, here's the dilemma. A new rangefinder, with high end IBIS, better EVF, PDAF, and a stylish body, in M43, is going to be expensive. And, given that the
expensive rangefinders that Panasonic has made in M43 in past, have NOT sold well, where is their incentive to do this? It's not there. People who are going to spend $1500 + on a small rangefinder, are a small market, with lots of options for gear now, and almost all of that gear have sensors that are larger and more technologically advanced than what M43 has to work with. And, if they cut costs with the 20MP CDAF only sensor, they could drop the cost...but lose to the PDAF contingent available elsewhere.
So, if you look at it that way, it will be a very cold day before Panasonic puts more money and innovation into a mid-range M43 body of any style.
Whether or not Panasonic succeeds with L-mount is an entirely other question, but it's where their R&D and marketing clearly are focused now, and for the foreseeable future. It's where they CAN charge more for their products, and the potential for profit, as a result, is far higher than with anything they might have, if they devoted equivalent development dollars to it, in M43.
-J
I previously had a G9 though have not handled the mk II so I may be missing some small but significant difference 
I prefer just relaxing in the sun.
