since when do Apple diehards care about benchmarks? I thought it was more about user experience.
Everyone loves benchmarks when its favorable.
It's funny, though, because there is
some lag and bugs with the rollout of iOS 7 on older devices. It's weird to see Android users and Apple users trade places, if only for a little bit and for a short while. iPhones with the fastest hardware, but some minor complaints about the UI.
Everyone has to recognize that Apple is king of the hill right now with some of the camera stuff and their CPU, but they weren't just a few weeks ago. The Android manufacturers will leapfrog Apple again at some point, and in a year Apple with leapfrog Android again. It's just how fast technology is moving.
I'm glad for the competition in the mobile space and discussion over the strengths and weaknesses of all the phones and other mobile devices. It means no one has a stranglehold just yet, and the pace of improvements to nearly everything is quite good. The smartphones we use today are faster or very nearly faster than the desktops we were using 10 years ago.