That's incorrect, the Q1 update will focus on more than just planets:
Quarter 1: Update
- Engineering, In future any crafted upgrade at an Engineer will always be better than what you currently have.
- Crime & Punishment, System Authority ships will have ‘better teeth and tactics’ to deal with concept of ‘consequences to criminality across human space’.
- Trade, Access to better trade data to allow players to make better decisions when buying and selling commodities.
- Wing Missions, Challenging wing missions that you can take on with your friends as a team.
- Planetary Tech, Frontier will be making some sizeable changes to both the colours and details of the planets in the game by “revisiting the shaders and graphs” that produce the procedurally created planets. This will bring out some of the ‘contrast and details that already exist within the system’ and give the planets a more ‘rich detailed look’ with a ‘wider variety of colour variations’.
- Narrative, Frontier have always said they are keen on building a narrative in the game and this is something they are looking to expand upon in the upcoming Quarter 1 release by continuing the story of ‘The Guardians’. As well as this they are said to be wanting to allow individual players to unlock their own ‘personal narrative’ by giving the access to various technologies.
- Galnet Audio
- The Chieftain, Frontier said that this is a unique ship in that it is an answer to the return of the Thargoids and is a partnership between The Alliance and Lakon. It brings the previous aesthetics of previous Lakon ship along with a more ‘aggressive military feel’.
- The Krait
- Type-10
- ‘Under the Hood’ Changes, Frontier have been making some technical ‘under the hood’ changes for what Sandro Sammarco described as for the ‘long term benefit of the game’.
https://elitedangerous2016.wordpress.com/2-5-core-game-improvements/