I've been running the beta 1's since iOS4, and while they can be glitchy, buggy, and crashy, the UI is never really incomplete.

If Apple substantially changes the designs (iconography included) between now and shipping, it would make for a first.

I feel similarly to the author. Overall I like the design and think it's a much-needed step forward for the OS, but the iconography is distracting. The removal of any kind of affordance in the slide-to-action bars is also a step back.

There are lots of places in the OS where I'd expect, under normal circumstances, some pretty substantial redesign, but Apple has never been known to overhaul their designs significantly between beta and release.

The design won't change significantly in the next months. For example, the Game Center design is likely there to stay for the most part. And, by the way, I acknowledged that it's a beta and there's time to improve.