they do the same with the LX7 (or were you including that already in the 2 zoom lenses?)Panasonic made at least two zoom lenses with aperture rings and variable maximum apertures. You could select a wider aperture than was possible at longer focal lengths, but obviously the lens would only open up as far as it could and the actual aperture would be displayed in the viewfinder. Fund's method of an electronic only display of the aperture value avoids that ambiguity.
aren't constant aperture zoom lenses just zoom lenses with the aperture artificially limited at wider angles?