While I do think you were confused when you wrote this (although even relative to sales it's questionable: Apple came along and decimated the entire field of J2ME devices), I would actually agree that relative to best device it is true.

Why? Because there is intense, endless competition in the Android space, with dozens of companies kicking and screaming to get on top of the pile. The pace of change on the hardware side has been blistering (less so on the software side, though Google is the critical impediment there) because of that. It is an evolutionary ecosystem.

The iPhone side of course adapts to competition, but with just a single vendor and a single set of interests, it does so much more slowly.

When the 3GS came out it was, by far, the top of the herd. When the 4 came out it was tight, but it was a bit above the best of the Android pack. With the iPhone 5...I'm not so sure. I don't know what they could reasonably do to catch up to the ridiculously equipped devices coming out now.