Like they said - it's spindle is free, meaning the pad will spin in consequence of the orbital motion. If you hold the backing plate with the tool powered on it will only oscillate, and not spin.
This also means if you exert sufficient pressure / or hit an 'odd place' during the polishing of a complex panel / etc, it may loose some rotation, bog down or even stop rotating. Pad rotation is a very crucial aspect when correcting paint defects and you should work towards keeping it at a good level.
However, Meguiar's invested again in 'Cruise Control' improvement (it try to compensate power when more pressure is added), or better saying, 'Digital Torque Management ensures proper torque to maintain load speed level'.
This will not avoid bog down, but may help.
The better technique you develop, less bogging down issues you may face.
Another important investment (IMO) Meguiar's made was the release of new foam discs. Like Mike Phillips always says, with DAs, 'Thin is In'. And the new foam discs are exactly this thin.
When you use bulky pad on a spindle free DA, the pad itself may absorb much of the motion of the tool reducing your polishing effectiveness. Thin pads helps dealing with this.
If you are willing to add a lot, lot of pressure to your DA, you're (again, IMO) going in the wrong direction. Switch to a better compound, a coarser pad, or even the Meguiar's (incredible, by the way) Microfiber Discs, which not only increases the cut but are also thin and will rotate very well.
The tool itself seems to be well made, well balanced, vibrates little but I've not tested one personally and will not be able to certify it's a great buy (tip to Meguiar's: Send me one for review!
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Sounds very interesting indeed, for me it's more comparable to a Rupes (apart from conventional 8mm throw) than to a Flex.
I also don't see 8mm throw on the Meg's tool as a disadvantage, since many times I feel 21mm from my big foot is too much.
If I would go with Meg's new DA I'd also follow their 'system', pairing with new thin foam pads and microfiber discs, in my preference 5".
Hope that helps, good luck on your decision.
Kind Regards.
