As I see it, 4e was an anomaly when it comes to D&D. D&DN reminds me a lot of the earlier editions. It feels like something between AD&D and 3e. If you disregard 4e, D&DN to me doesn't use a blow torch at all. The backgrounds reminds me of the kits from AD&D while the specialization you can do in D&DN reminds me of the PrC's of 3e.
Sure they have changed the spell casting a lot, but if you look at the amount of spells per day in 5e compared to 3e, it's a lot lower. It's actually even lower than AD&D. They do get some unvanician spells though, but that's something that the casters will fall back on. The power lies in the vanician spells. I think D&DN will have a very interesting dynamic between fighter and wizard. Something that feels a lot more like AD&D than 3e.
Btw, I am a 4e player and DM, but I am not sad to see it go they way of the dodo when it comes to splat books. If they would do some adventure support, I would be really happy though.
What I want out of D&DN:
1. Lots of adventures
2. Low amount of splat books
3. Interesting rules expansions tied to running a campaign
4. Setting books
5. Good digital support (adventures optimized for running from, or reading, on a tablet)
I am pretty sure I will be satisfied with the mechanical aspect of D&DN, but I think making the rule books a good read is more important than making clear rules. It should be inspiring to read the books. If a rule can be interpreted differently, it's ok. As a DM you should be making decisions like that anyway. Plenty of fun examples is also good.