I doubt that. The firmware, maybe, but probably not drivers. Normally the difference between high-priced and low-priced models is that the low-priced models have some internal fuses blown, so that some of the cores are disabled. Sometimes those cores were defective, other times they disable cores just to meet the demand. It could be that they disable the cores with firmware instead of fuses, and somehow the drivers could reenable cores in the latter cases, but my guess is that the people who give the orders simply think of their precious architecture details as information that needs to be kept secret, in case the competition gets too many ideas from those details.
IPS panel technology can display true 8bit color just fine. Most professional grade screens are some kind of IPS (S-IPS,P-IPS,...), with the rest being some kind of VA (MVA,PVA), and for professinal use, 8bit is only just barely enough.
If you are thinking about OLED (or any buzzword derived from it), they have the main advantages of being more visible under sunlight while using less power -- with supposedly wider viewing angles, although since modern IPS/VA screens look fine regardless of the angle, I'm not convinced that it's any better in that area.
I was trying to write some other better analogy to explain why you shouldn't expect new software to be written from scratch, but then I thought it was just pointless. Almost all subsequent versions of ANY product (software or not) are "refurbished" design-wise. The sticker is not necessary because it should be your expectation that they reused most of the code or part designs. That's what it being a new version implies. They revised the old design, polished some aspects, changed other parts, assembled it, and then put it in a store so you can buy it. This is not just Microsoft, it's not even just software. This applies to EVERYTHING.
You want discounted price because you already own part of the same software? No problem! Simply buy an upgrade license instead of a new one. Microsoft has been offering them all this time. At launch Windows 7 Pro was $240 for the full edition, or $140 for the upgrade edition. Windows 8 had a special offer at launch, where they offered upgrade copies of Windows 8 for $40. The offer ended so it's now $100 instead.
I'm not a car owner so I don't have experience with buying cars, but I'd expect a car dealer to laugh at me if I tell him to give me a discount simply because my old car already had 4 wheels and a front engine. And as far as I know, car makers stop making parts for old models after a certain amount of time, so you have to buy them from 3rd parties. But you don't expect them to keep supporting your very old car just because you feel like buying a new one is unnecessary, do you?
By the way, Google Shopping Search found me a Windows 7 Pro license for just $26: http://www.dealscube.com/detail.asp?id=32580#page=description
Why not?! Reusing existing code is a perfectly valid option! Heck it's the whole idea behind posix: to be able to reuse most existing code by providing a stable API. Of course if you reuse old code you also reuse old bugs.
On the other hand, you are right: freeing themselves from XP doesn't mean they will build a better OS afterwards. They might, but if their goals have changed to "devices and services" for good...
The one day you'd sell your soul for something, souls are a glut.