I think those who predicted mass abandonment by the largest players may be right.
A couple hours has given me the appropriate muscle memory for the basic patterns of keys I use in managing my cities, but not a single aspect is done more quickly than before. Some things, like the farming system, I was prepared for. Others I was not. (though I should have been) For example, the pages seem to have a much higher information density than before. The city list is my primary handicap in this regard. Short of my home computer, I'm not sure I'll have access to any devices capable of opening that list in a timely fashion. Smart phone play has probably gone out the window. Most likely so has use of older computers while I'm looking after elderly family members.
More gods/units= more possibilities= more freedom. So do wonders in theory. (If not for the caveat regarding the closing of worlds beneath a certain activity threshold, I'd be completely behind the wonder system) I don't mind such additions.
But everything else seems like simply a design change to slow me down. Efficiency of large players will further drop, closing the gap between large and small. Great if you're a beginner trying to fend off a 1,000,000 pointer. Not so great if you're trying to manage your 100 cities as effectively as that cluster of smaller players attacking you.
I'll continue playing of course, but not at my previous level of competence.
edit: Not EVERY aspect is slower. But all the shortcuts I've found rely upon use of gold, directly or indirectly.