Yet I would much rather use the "old" style Control Panel than the new Settings page.
(btw, just in case... you did click "More details" at the bottom left side, right? Otherwise it looks more barebones than the Windows 3.1 task manager :-P)
In the same time, Task Manager has gained nice charts, it's begun to display stats on network and disk as well as CPU usage, and it's gained a simplified view that my mother can use to close a crashing program. I've been spectacularly impressed with the task manager changes - simultaneously making it easy for low skill users and adding advances features making it unnecessary for me to install Process Explorer on every machine I use.
The thing the GP highlights though, shows it's never really "gradual."
Just by being observant, you can pretty much date the last time any particular component of Windows was touched. Windows 10 has dialogs, controls, UI themes, HIG sensibilities from all of Windows 3, 95, 98, XP, Vista, 8, and 10 mixed together. It feels very haphazard.
this has been going on for about 8 years with no end in sight. I wouldn't call that gradual.