it's designed to be compatible with current shields
I know - but it seems like it was an opportunity to move on - the chip is no longer a "drop in replacement" like the 8/168/328 series.
I guess the massive bank of I/O off the right will be on a 0.1" grid, and therefore we could just use those inputs for "homemade" shields.
Yeah the more I think about it I gues that could be a good compromise.