Having nothing but rows of icons on your home screen made sense when the original iPhone came out because the power just wasn't there. Phones these days are desktop class machines of yesteryear and Apple needs to get you more functionality out of the home screen. People multitask and having to go to the home screen every time I want to do something else is getting very bothersome.
The only reason I still have an iPhone is that my jailbreak gets me the functionality I want (and allows me to stick with the wonderful ecosystem). Apps like BiteSMS, activator, flipcontrolcenter, springtomize are the only reason I'm still using an iPhone!
The reason the home screen is a row of apps is because Apple's focus has NEVER been the home screen.
It's all about the apps.
Actually, now that I think about it - my "desktop" is a big grid of "apps" and folders. So what exactly does being "desktop class" have to do with some additional "functionality" on the home screen.
Its a portal, a screen you aren't meant to be on long. Because all the work is done inside the apps. They are the stars in iOS - which is why app quality has always been better on iOS (though the gap has closed). Apple focuses on letting the OS retreat so the user can focus on the apps. Android tries to do everything in the OS, while the apps are secondary.
You like the way Android works, go buy Android.