Retained functionality in the majority of form. IMO Korg was the only company of the big three that didn't release a step down version of their "flagship"... Korg waited till the end of Kronos life to do it. VERY SMART....
and then to release it and they be basically the same minus Karma, and some controls, but at the same time ADDING some things that Kronos didn't have... And shaving close to 1000$ off the asking price.
But it does come down to functionality and user preference. What works for some may not work for everyone. So I def understand where some people would want a Kronos instead.