Certainly the RF camera referenced here seems akin to a 7D successor and targeting users who will pay a premium for an APS-C camera, but I struggle to imagine Canon building this camera and then leaving things there. I think if they make one APS-C RF body, there is a good chance that other APS-C RF cameras come along to hit other price points. Canon has pumped R&D into RF, but the price for entry is still on the high side for first-time camera buyers. I could certainly see a lower cost body coming to RF to entice first time buyers to get into the Canon RF ecosystem, much the same way EF-S bodies were an easy transition to EF bodies.
I'm not sure I agree that Canon wouldn't re-launch lenses in APS-C RF mount - it really depends on their long-term plan, and they certainly re-launched several EF lenses in RF mount. Canon has been on a patent spree for RF lenses including focal ranges more akin to APS-C on RF mount (
RF 18-45), and patented several
slower primes (albeit full frame patents). If Canon can fill out the lower cost/lower size range of RF lenses and shows willingness to create an APS-C RF line at all, then I could see a lot of temptation to move away from EF-S and EF-M entirely. Doing so could potentially fill (to some extent) the "small and light" niche held by EOS-M, and the "entry to mid-level" niche held by EF-S, while creating a more direct transition for those buying entry level bodies to purchase higher-end full frame bodies. It would also reduce the number of mounts they need to manage, and ensure that new entry level cameras are developed on the same platform they've
openly admitted to focusing on. The more I think about it, the more I struggle to see Canon continuing to release bodies with mounts where no new glass is coming any time soon.