[godelski]

Did we read the same article?

  > The real challenge is that UI designs are ultimately constrained by their hardware.

Sure, but part of designing a product is recognizing this and the author seems to be making that point. Surely they aren't saying you should have sound and haptics in devices with no speakers or motors. Certainly I think the author would argue that cars should have physical knobs and not touch screens.

The problem is what you mean by "UI"

UI means "User Interface". It does not mean "Software defined User Interface".

  User interfaces are composed of one or more layers, including a human–machine interface (HMI) that typically interfaces machines with physical input hardware (such as keyboards, mice, or game pads) and output hardware (such as computer monitors, speakers, and printers). 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_interface