Yes - for the most part - it is just nicer to look at. Gameplaywise - it is inferior to Sim 2 and Sims 3 IMO. CAS is better for creating a sim but when it comes to clothing - it is worse because there are so limited selections for colors/patterns. I do like the search function in build mode in Sims 4. I am not that much of a builder but some things are easier for building in Sims 4 and some things are harder and there is no water tool to put a pond on a lot and limited colors/patterns. Multitasking just seems to create more problems than it is worth and is apparently limited since they cannot even multitask at all in a lounge chair. At least in Sims 2 and 3 they actually sat at a table to eat and talked to each other w/o playing musical chairs. For a game that was promoted on the big feature being the emotions - that is a joke because they are meaningless - my sim beats up another sims and they hug afterward! In Sims 2 and 3 - you always knew what emotion they experienced by their facial expressions and actions. Sims 4 sims all seem the same - the few traits there are seem to do little to distinguish them. Sims should also have wants and fears based on their personalities and situations ( not just the same buy a bee box whim over and over) and they should have memories. Seems like they have just given up on whims even because there have not been any new ones since seasons. There are very few group activities - especially for kids - and the few they have done are lame, like snowball and water balloon fights - those were much better in Sims 2 and 3.
