That's what I hoped too. The way the letters moved just seemed strange to me, like they were moving too far. But I find it entirely likely that exactly what you described would look strange to me - I don't look at these comparisons very often so I don't know what is normal. Sort of like how moving closer while zooming out to keep the subject the same size does a strange (but neat) effect on everything else in video.

Have you tried it out, on an old phone for example? I've been trying it through the betas and I grew to hate it less than I expected. You might not, but it might be worth a try. Once again it's a shame that security updates and UI updates are inseparable. If you could do the security update without the feature update, I wouldn't even suggest you try it.

I actually think it's a shame that some of the most ridiculous levels of unreadable layering won't be seen by everyone. Most people will hate on something without ever having seen the full-fat, much worse version. Pulling the Control Centre down over the App Library was great (to giggle at in a beta on a backup phone, not on your main phone). There was also an entertainingly vibrant and dramatic distortion when pulling down the notification screen which has been toned way down. I can genuinely see why Apple thought it was cool, but common sense should have stepped in. Also, I think there's a good argument that UIs shouldn't be cool.

I won't upgrade to it quickly on my main phone but I wondered if I might be able to live with it, and there's a chance that the 26.1 might make it more useable.