Yes, I'm on my 3rd one (gave my black one to a friend and kept my gray one) and this new black model has a much better texture than the earlier editions. The surface feels like very fine sandpaper with slightly more resilience than the others.... a definite improvement.
I have the sheath for the 7 plus and thought it was a little slippery? How is the texture and grip on the new version compared to the previous one?