Competition is part of it; neither company will leave the other a market segment all to it's own. It seems to make more sense for Stihl than for Husky, since they went in a slightly different direction with the MS261. That saw did gain a little weight over the 260, so maybe they felt the need for a smaller saw. Husky went the other way and the 550 is even more nimble than the 346 was, so you'd think there'd be less of a need for a smaller saw. I have a couple of 242's, and they are great little saws, but it's hard to think of an application when they are a clear choice over a 346, let alone a 550. Maybe when doing a lot of limbing and there's plenty of reaching to do? Now keep in mind, I don't do bucket/climbing work.
But.............lot's of guys do and there is another factor in play here. Some of the big tree companies are no longer allowing top handle saws, or more specifically, one handed saw operation. Some guys from one of the larger companies were in this week and they say that using a saw with one hand is grounds for getting fired. So, if you eliminate the top handle saws from this environment, then the niche for the 543XP/MS241 gets a lot bigger. And this is where I think Husky and Stihl have their sights set wth these new saws.
The 543XP will be a cool saw, but I wonder how many people who say they want one have actually spent some time with a 550XP. :msp_wink: