Comment by ary

Some here have said that iOS 7 has gone too far in the "flat" direction, but my feeling is that the move is an intentional repositioning on Apple's part. Removing most of the "texture" from the user interface has (outside of aesthetic concerns) been done primarily so that it can be added back in a new way in the future.

Ever since I saw this demo video for Senseg [1]:

http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50115714.html

I've thought long and hard about how Apple might use this in future iOS devices. This clean slate design feels to me like the first step to something more. I personally hope it has a lot to do with haptic feedback as adding another user interface dimension to these types of devices would be incredible.

[1] http://senseg.com/