Maybe no more RX100s?

Sony's ZV line now covers full frame ILC, APS-C ILC, 24-70mm 1", and fixed focal length 1". Seems like if there's ever a new 24-200mm camera offered, it might as well be a ZV model.

Agreed, I think the M7 was the last RX100. Perhaps there will be a ZV vlogger version of that camera, but that's it.

But I do think there will be an RX10M5 next year. It may be the final Sony RX model of any type. In essence, it will just be an updated version of the M4, with fully updated AF, Bionz XR, USB-C, etc. Same lens, but a newer sensor, possibly the Z battery and UHS-II.

I hope Nigel is wrong as I can see great usage for an RX 100 VIII in my next years to come.
While smartphone photography is certainly on the right track, I am still not (yet) happy enough with the overall camera phone packages as offered.
The haptic to photograph is just not right for my taste.

The RX100m7 is at a dead-end. The next gen Sony tech uses the high powered dual processor Bionz XR, and I don't think that's compatible with the RX100's small form factor and tiny battery. Plus, even if you (and I) don't like using smartphone cameras, the vast majority of former compact camera users have switched to using their smartphones instead. There just isn't enough of a market left to justify any investment in a new RX100 model.

The Bionz XR chips:

I would like to see a new RX100 model as well as a new RX10, although I wouldn't buy any of them.
I own an RX10 mk I and an RX100 Mk II. In more or less one year, I intend to replace them with a Nikon Z7 II (or III) + 24-120 mm f/4 S and a decent smartphone (mine is pretty basic).

Can anyone actually recommend the RX100vii compact? It is a 4-year old camera but $1298 isn't as bad today as it was in 2019. I have a long-lens compact and could never achieve satisfactory results at 200mm. The DPreview R100vii gallery has no shots > 70mm. DxO PhotoLab (XD) does a good job with ISO 6400, based on a music portrait in their gallery. I'd like to post but it's probably a copyright violation.

The RX10v is certainly nice but I know myself, and would never carry such a large camera.

Huh? It has sample shots all the way to 200mm equiv!

For example, here's one at 200mm:
www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/5874815271/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-sample-gallery/4593028185

Or, another at 138mm:
www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/5874815271/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-sample-gallery/9413653579

The EXIFs say 72mm and 50.5 respectively, but "equivalent" is they key word here. You're right, 72mm = 200 equivalent. Those samples aren't useful to judge the lens at semi-telephoto, but here's a review with a better "200" sample. If anyone cares, click the 4-way arrows on upper right for full sizer. Looks like a job for Topaz Sharpen.

www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/sony-rx100-mark-vii-review#section-performance

There's lots more examples beyond 70mm. Topaz Sharpen isn't needed to correct for any lens or AF deficiencies, though it may sometimes be needed to correct for motion blur (it's hard to hold such a small camera steady, and the OSS is only average).

Thanks, average OSS makes sense. In the 72mm (200 equivalent) sample of a ruined church with water background, camera-shake is evident. That's why Topaz Sharpen selected motion blur.

DPreview says, "4K video quality and autofocus are also highly capable, and the addition of an 'Active' image stabilization mode in 4K allows for smooth hand-held shooting." So maybe it's better for video than stills.

Yes, that's probably true. That's why I normally use the Fast or Faster shutter options, even though that raises the ISO (rarely a problem, as I process all images with DeepPRIME).

Here's a couple of examples from my RX100M6 (same lens as the M6), shot at 200mm equiv in two very different places. As always, they were shot raw, processed in PhotoLab:
One of the relocated rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt:

Fjortende Julibreen glacier, in northern Svalbard, high in the Arctic:

Or, here's one of a roof in Kecskemét, Hungary:

Edit:
I see that the key Exif details are now shown!