But they did have to cut features right? That's the whole point of the video you linked to (which I can't view for some reason). So they got some things, but didn't get others. Just like the Nexus One doesn't get the ICS launcher, clock widget, support for dual-cores & NFC chips (that it doesn't even have) or the new font but does get the very latest improvements to Google Maps, Youtube, and all these Google provided apps (most of which are available to 97.5% of Androids that visit the market, Maps to 98.9%, Google Translate 100% as it supports Android 1.5+):

https://market.android.com/developer?pub=Google+Inc.

And if the past is any guide, there will be newer and better apps added to that list shortly after they are previewed in the latest Android release, sometimes announced with very strict requirements but then later relaxed as features are backported e.g. the new Market that at first was 2.2+ only:

http://androidcommunity.com/silent-update-brings-2-2-feature...

What about the Siri app that got pulled from the app store, so that the top-billed new feature is only available on the latest phone?

I own a first generation iPod Touch and haven't forgotten how quickly OS updates for that device stopped, or how many features were unavailable even when the OS update itself was available. And yes, you had to pay for the OS update.

yea