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Buying decisions are often NOT made based on how well a product scores on benchmarks. Evidence: iDevices

Except they win most benchmarks handily.

Tactile feedback sounds like a decent idea. But I wish they'd work on the latency first. You get a much better 'physical' connection with the device when the latency is less than 50 or even 5 milliseconds.

  The latest iPhone adds all sorts of scrolling gimmicks, and that'll unfortunately also have the effect of increased latency.

Actually, someone has gone about to measure latency on phones and found that iOS scores consistently better than Android or Windows Phone - an iPhone 5 around 75ms, a 4 at 92ms. They also retested the 4 with iOS7 (it was 6.1.3 before) and found no difference in latency.

They also test tablets and again, iOS generally came in first with around 75ms (iPad Mini) to 81ms (iPad 4th gen) latency. NVidia's SHIELD came in next, but had a huge amount of variance (92ms), showing what one can do if one optimizes their software stack (but the variance is worrying - silky smooth one moment, stuttery jerkiness the next?).

Microsoft's Surface RT comes in at around 95ms, Kindle Fire HD (2013) at 114. The 2013 Nexus 7 at 135 and the Galaxy Tab 8 at a whopping 168ms.

It goes to show that Android can do well in the latency department (see Kindle Fire, NVidia SHIELD), but that optimizations are seriously needed by hardware vendors.

Of course, none of it anywhere near the sub-10ms latency in the video they get, but the latencies are marching downwards.

Tactile feedback sounds like a decent idea. But I wish they'd work on the latency first. You get a much better 'physical' connection with the device when the latency is less than 50 or even 5 milliseconds.

  The latest iPhone adds all sorts of scrolling gimmicks, and that'll unfortunately also have the effect of increased latency.

Actually, someone has gone about to measure latency on phones and found that iOS scores consistently better than Android or Windows Phone - an iPhone 5 around 75ms, a 4 at 92ms. They also retested the 4 with iOS7 (it was 6.1.3 before) and found no difference in latency.

They also test tablets and again, iOS generally came in first with around 75ms (iPad Mini) to 81ms (iPad 4th gen) latency. NVidia's SHIELD came in next, but had a huge amount of variance (92ms), showing what one can do if one optimizes their software stack (but the variance is worrying - silky smooth one moment, stuttery jerkiness the next?).

Microsoft's Surface RT comes in at around 95ms, Kindle Fire HD (2013) at 114. The 2013 Nexus 7 at 135 and the Galaxy Tab 8 at a whopping 168ms.

It goes to show that Android can do well in the latency department (see Kindle Fire, NVidia SHIELD), but that optimizations are seriously needed by hardware vendors.

Of course, none of it anywhere near the sub-10ms latency in the video they get, but the latencies are marching downwards.

even if android was sluggish, which it isnt,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVDMOP1pWCQ

http://gigaom.com/2012/01/19/video-android-touch-lag-and-a-possible-solution/

http://appglimpse.com/blog/touchmarks-i-smart-phone-touch-screen-latencies/

On contract, the cheapest 5c is half the price of the cheapest 5s (or other new generation phones), and while other phones have surpassed it in some respects, it still delivers the full Apple iOS experience. In fact, a recent study found that the iPhone 5 has half the touch screen delay (which is probably the main factor determining the perception of touchphone responsiveness) of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (in fact, even the two-year old iPhone 4s, available free with a contract, beats the Galaxy S4).

Probably the same kind of people who buy Macs, even though Dell computers do the same thing for a fraction of the cost
Or the people who buy a Mercedes Benz, even though a Hyundai does the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

Of course, while all of these products do generally the same thing, the user experience can be quite different for people who notice this sort of thing.
For example, Apple is very concerned about conveying a touch experience that creates the illusion that the user is interacting directly with elements of the display, so Apple puts a lot of effort into minimizing the lag between touch input and response. For example, the previous generation, the iPhone 5, has half the latency of the fastest Android device. And the iPhone 5s is benchmarking twice as fast as the iPhone 5 for some functions.

For some people, this sort of thing makes a big difference. They may not be able to put their finger on it, but they know that Apple's devices are more enjoyable to use than other devices that do the "same thing," just as a Mercedes is more enjoyable to drive than a Hyundai.

But while you'll spend a great deal more for a Mercedes, you can buy the iPhone 5s at nearly the same price as top-of-the-line competitors. This Apple's big achievement with the iPhone, and Apple continues to reap these huge sales numbers year after year--the ability to deliver a premium quality product at a price that is competitive with the knock-offs.