I really doubt that Flex was playing catch up to anybody, Rupes included. They are definitely not copying Rupes in any way with the XFE7-150, as it uses its own balancing system (the famous rattle when it is picked up and moved in different directions, even unpowered). I don't think the XFR7-12 is a copy of the Rupes Mini. Hard to say as of now, without seeing the full specs of the new Flex, but why is it trying to catch up to Rupes, and not Griot's Garage? GG also has a 3" mini polisher.. Rupes had a forced rotation polisher decades ago, yet never brought it to market (it is in the video that Mike Phliips did when he visited the Rupes factory and museum), yet Rupes felt that it was better to go with a long throw DA. Is Rupes "catching up" with Flex (if so, why didn't they do it prior to now), or are they just seeing the market expand?
I think that all of the major detailing tool vendors (Flex, Rupes, GG, now Makita) are only now seeing the size of the detailing market, and are starting to devote more effort to cater to it. This is why Rupes will shortly bring out a forced rotation polisher, why Makita just brought theirs out. It wasn't because they have some compelling reason to "catch up" to anybody, just that they believe that there is a market that they can grab a chunk of. I also think this will prompt, for example, GG to improve their 3" polisher, which has a reputation of being under-powered. I see GG maybe coming out with a forced rotation polisher and maybe Makita coming out with a DA (its not much of a reach to see a DA only version of the PO6000C). The more products that they have out there, the more that they can capitalize on commonality. The new XFE7-12 uses a lot of case parts from the PE8 (saying this because of the overall shape and size, and the position of the speed control dial). I would be surprised if the XFE7-12 didn't use the same, or a very close relative, or the PE8 motor. I would guess that the XFE7-12 is basically the PE8 with a DA gear train vs. the rotary gear train of the PE8. We'll see when the specs for the XFE7-12 come out; if you see an 800W motor specification, it will be basically the PE8 motor. The XCE9 (the XC 3401 replacement) will use a lot of the case parts of the XFE7-150, and take advantage of the improved airflow.