I quite literally have never noticed this when using my iPhone over the past couple years. I actually had to re-read the article a few times to understand what the author was trying to convey.
Does it make a difference? You bet.
"For the interested reader", see different kinds of framing in the Path app: http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/067/Purple/v4/2c/81/7e/2c817... There's color, drop shadows etc.
http://www.cultofmac.com/173232/in-ios-6-the-status-bar-chan...
This also means in under a month this article may need a bit of updating, because the 'white' status bar won't be 'white' for the majority of use cases any more.
I far prefer the black status bar in apps, as it feels like it goes away, while still being there. But the rounded corners don't see a big deal to me. The fact that the article always compares the two together, you can't quite make the argument that one is needed with the other. (unless I totally glossed over something in that)