Clean-sheet business jets tend to be a novelty because of the costs of design, technology and certification. Most new models are iterations of previous generations, built around proven platforms, sometimes with new engines or avionics. More likely, the changes involve interior design, which can be more cosmetic than meaningful. Real game-changers are rare.

Embraer’s Praetor 600E super-midsized jet is unusual in that regard, built on the Praetor 600 platform introduced in 2018. But the new version’s interior promises to set a fresh benchmark after it’s certified and delivered to its first customers in 2029. The company today revealed the 600E and its smaller midsized sibling, the 500E, announcing the two would be available for orders going forward.

Last week, Robb Report became the first media outlet to take a flight aboard the 600E at Embraer Executive Jets’s headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, following a presentation by officials regarding the aircraft’s key features.

“How do we unlock the greatest potential in the super-midsize category and go beyond?” asked Alvadi Serpa Junior, vice president of market and product strategy for the Brazilian airframer. That kind of Powerpoint intro is usually filled with business jargon and empty superlatives, but Embraer introduced a host of features that promise to put enormous pressure on its competitors in the super-midsize category—a popular jet type thanks to its speed and range, interiors that seat and sleep up to 10 passengers, and, compared to larger-cabin jets, relatively inexpensive operational costs.

Features like the Phenom 600E’s “Smart Window,” the all-electric, well-engineered seating, streamlined air vent system, exterior cameras connected to cabin monitors, lighting system, and voice-activated apps are typically found on large-cabin or even the ultra-long-range jets at business aviation’s pinnacle. These features actually lived up to the pre-flight hype during our hour in the air.

The Embraer team are a scrappy group, led by Serpa Junior and Jay Beever, the division’s vice president of design, along with a design team in Melbourne and engineering support at Embraer’s commercial-aircraft headquarters in Brazil. Our group gathered around the Smart Window, a 42-inch monitor co-designed with Lufthansa Technik, on a center bulkhead, surrounded by seats and a divan across the aisle. The monitor is touchscreen, curved to match the bulkhead, and connected to an exterior camera to give a sense of transparency to the wall.

“The divan middle seat goes from the least preferred seat to the best, because it’s the one attached to the Smart Window,” says Beever who held positions at Ford Automotive and Gulfstream before coming to Embraer a decade ago. Serpa Junior says that the arrangement adds a third zone in what had been a two-zone aircraft, despite no increase in the cabin’s size. Both execs called the monitor a “very large PED”—personal electronic device—since it handles movies, video games, video conferencing, or like an oversized window, mirrors the landscape below via the exterior camera.

The 600E’s other primary feature are the seats, a leap forward from the previous generation. They were designed and built in-house. “That gave us control over the features while staying within budget,” says Serpa Junior. The electronically controlled seats have no levers connected to internal mechanical pulleys, but are controlled by three buttons on both sides of the armrests, with dual lumbar supports and three levels of cushioning for comfort, and the ability to pivot multiple ways, tilt back and drop down into a berth. The forward-tracking headrest shows the thought that went into the design.

An hour didn’t allow for a nap, but the seats swiveled easily in multiple directions and felt generally comfy with the footrest up. Embraer is offering multiple types of stitching, leather colors and even custom trim like carbon-fiber accents offered in three “collections.”

Several other features may be seen as gee-whiz details, but reflect Embraer’s intent to elevate the super-mid into a different category. The pre-programmed RGB mood lighting can change the appearance of the cabin by voice activation or pressing buttons depending on time of day, activity, or even nationality—they have a USA red, white and blue, or Brazilian green, yellow and blue options. Even more interesting were the redesigned air vents above each seat, which previously had gaspers (the bulbs you twist on and off), but now push air through narrow slats controlled by your app or the panel on the armrest. It might seem like a minor detail, but it took a lot of smart engineering to achieve the streamlined panel and a more comfortable experience. It shows how Embraer is using design to address ergonomics in the very limited confines of a business jet, where every tenth of an inch and every ounce count.

The redesigned galley includes a larger working space and streamlined appliances that Embraer designed to look stylish and more functional, and there’s also a crew lavatory up front. At 4,108 nautical miles, the 600E already claims the longest range in the super-midsize category but this new aircraft will also have a higher payload for takeoff and landing.

The midsize Praetor 500E won’t have the Smart Window because of the more compact size of its side bulkheads, but it does share the seating and other design features of the larger 600E. Both aircraft will see single-percentage increases, with the new 500E having a baseline price of $21,645,000, and the Praetor 600E starting at $25,795,000.