Viewed from over here in the cheap seats, Piper's revelation this week that it's retooling its M-Class line is more significant than it looks for two reasons I can think of: business/marketing savvy and for a clear signal on where general aviation autoflight might be going.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/avionics/piper-bets-big-on-envelope-protection