The iPhone 4 has been selling by the bucket load even though faster phones exist. I don't think the 5 'needs to be spectacular', just a bit better. I can't really think of anything I need to do on a phone that would need the battery thrashing a quad core 2gig processor would give. I wouldn't upgrade my 4 just for faster, it would need new functionality rather than bigger numbers.
Every time a new IOS pops up, new and exciting APIs are given to the developers enabling better app development. I think this is Apples strength right now, focusing on tangible functionality rather than stats.