Interesting article. HORRID writing. GTFP. This guy clearly wants to be a journalist but just isn't cutting the mustard. I should have to be 30 inches in your article to find the quote for why they are doing it, which makes some sense.
Umm I have to disagree. The lack of a notification bar / system, widgets really detract. I think the over glossed UI is getting stale. I think the new design is worse than the old. It looks like something LG was making a few years ago. People calling it "gorgeous" are fan boys sorely in denial. It's a brick. A shiny brick but still a brick. It feel cold and sharp in your hands just like MBPs (not a compliment).
The screen is not huge revolution it's slightly more res than has been going into pretty much every smart phone for a year. Telling the difference between those resolutions at that scale is nearly impossible.
I just don't see anything to be impressed by blockier design, OS upgrades that still doesn't catch Android in core functionality, and not to mention ATT.