Scuttle in the Bernina community is that the new one is a higher end model with a laser light guide. It doesn't really interest me.
I really, really wish they'd stop with making their machines "extra". Go back to some of the basics. I'd buy a new model of my 153QE in a heartbeat, and have heard others say the same. I rarely use any decorative stitches, would be happy with a handful rather than 100's. Do not care at all for embroidery. I'm sort of on the fence about the thread cutter; it seems like a lot of people have problems with them. I'd like a hover foot and BSR, but the machines that have those features have many bells and whistles that I don't want.
Oh well, I'll just keep using this one until I can't!