[j0ev]

I disagree, it gives the gist of what is in the background. You can easily tell if the layer is over the homescreen or Mail or Safari etc. I like the blur effect because it makes it easier to read text than on just say a 80% opaque layer (and I think it looks cool).

[jwilliams]

That's the thing - you can't see what's behind - take a look at the shot here: http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/

If you look at control center - the flashlight glows green and the camera red. Why? Because some arbitrary icon that you can't even make out is that color behind it. I find that really odd.

Even if you could actually make out what's behind the layer, I don't see the utility (and I'd argue it's even more distracting).