Nikon have come a long way with the Z system and very quickly.
The Z9 and Z8 are arguably the best pair of mirrorless full frame cameras available today. The ZF for those looking at a retro style with its eye detect manual focus assist is amazing. But the big seller for Nikon is the Z6.
The original Z6 was a good solid performer and despite what your heard, was a good all-round decent camera. Some complained of banding, forgetting the competition also banded at such extremes, and with the latest firmware focus was good but not class leading.
The Z6II was a minor update, those with a Z6 already were better off not upgrading, but with The Z9 Nikon have shown they can lead the pack, and we are all waiting for the Z6III.
Its going to be a difficult juggle for Nikon, 24 megapixels is a sweet spot, excellent noise performance, great in low light, image file size not too big to edit in a hurry for event photographers and perfect for video. The YouTubers and social media crowd though will not like a 24MP camera, they will say its just more of the same. If it is higher then I hope its no more then 36MP or a multi resolution solution like what the Leica M11 offers.
Rumours are now flying and its believed Nikon are flying a few YouTubers out this month to see a new product so hopeful this will be the long awaited Nikon Z6III, one of Nikon’s best sellers and core to their range.