"Advanced Functionality" with NI MK2 keyboards and Cubase?

I’ve been looking at the new Native Instruments 61 key MK2 keyboard. Pretty nice with two screens and lots of new buttons and knobs that appear to eliminate most of the mousing around I’m doing now. It moves in the direction of feeling more like a workstation than a midi controller. Makes it tempting to jump on the NI bandwagon.

NI’s website mentions “Advanced functionality for Cubase and Nuendo coming late 2017.” Anybody know what that actually means? Any press releases or hints out there from the Cubase end? Any wild guesses?

Presumably similar to the control it already has with the DAWS already listed and indeed something like the Nektar controllers & keyboards where the various knobs can control Virtual Instrument settings, transport, plugins, mixers, etc depending on which button you press and screen you’re on.

In principle they could take it further than that - e.g. by displaying the piano roll and/or the audio waves for a track on the built in displays - perhaps even allowing some editing - that would be neat.

…I’d guess that at the moment that information is not being made available by Steinberg along the USB but I suppose it is indeed possible.

I don’t really understand the need for this extra control and screens! I have a 4k screen right in front of me, and key commands for everything already!

Control of some parameters can be useful on a keyboard if more intuitive than a mouse movement but I tend to agree on the display front. I can’t imagine wanting to do anything display related on anything smaller than my big screens.

If you are not just yourself - e.g. the keybaord player could be sitting in the midst of all his keyboards - he might like to see what is going on when he is supposed to punch in and correct his mistakes - or something similar…