Hardware specs do sell to an extent, but you need to realise that iOS doesn't need the same resources as Android.
The iPhone 5 has a dual core 1GHz processor with 1GB of ram and a battery half the size of the latest Android phones, yet it's still just as fast, can run the latest games and has better battery life than most other phones.
I say what's the point in putting excessively overpowered hardware when it doesn't currently need it? The iPhone 5 is unlikely to be pushed by software for a couple of years at least.
And NFC is definitely not needed. Had it, used it on Android in conjunction with NFC tags but don't need to toggle settings to save battery in iOS. And it's not supported for payments here yet, so there's really no use for it.
Nothing wrong with being a realist
Yet it's running at a resolution lower than 720P and has a screen size of only 4". It's OS doesn't take advantage of newer hardware. The phone is closed off for developers and users unless they have a jailbreak.
The iPhone 5 should have better hardware with software that is pushing forward. iOS 6 was a step backward for Apple. It brought more problems than solutions.
Apple has always been about creativity and making every other device simply just a device. But recently Apple has been neglecting its OS. They've been making incremental changes to their OS just like RIM was going before they fell.
I love Apple, I have a Macbook Pro, a jail broken iPad 3, and a jail broken Apple TV 2. I use to have an iPhone 5 but gave it up for a Galaxy Note 2 because it seemed unlikely that there was going to be a jailbreak for the iPhone 5. When I first got my iPhone 4, it truly felt like it was ahead of the competition. There were so many reasons why someone should choose an iPhone over an android phone.
Honestly Apple should have released the iPhone 5 with iOS 5. Right now they don't have the momentum that they use to have since Android phones have done more than just caught up. They need a new phone each year. Not a minor upgrade. If it requires them to have two separate types of phones then so be it.