Apple leaks are funny because even though there is money exchange to obtain them and web traffic incentive as an understatement, there is no revenue loss like entertainment-related leaks or piracy in plain terms.
Even iPhone 4's mysterious thunder being 'stolen' by the Gizmodo/bar thing, didn't stop it from being a top seller or diminish its sales in any way. If anything, they increased. That retina display leaked in advance but not too long before the keynote iirc, but it was a "one last thing" to seal the deal if you were on the fence.
The real problem is innovation, or lack thereof. Leak or no leak, if it's not bringing something tremendously new to the table, people who have
products might just hold out. Cannibalization of thyself.
Heck, my 5 is about to be 'obsolete' with 5S maybe even discontinued with the release of 5C (iPad 3 all over again), but I don't care I still see it as superior with JB/fakeclockup (til 5S gets it too, but even then I'll wait for the next break through and then evaluate whether I want to stay put, move up, or try another platform), my JB'en ATV2 still gets use even though I have an ATV3 as well and have it on the HBO Go stock firmware (no JB available), and my 2011 Air is running as strong as it did when I first got it. And my iPad3 (JB) too runs great, amazing screen. Couldn't get one with a good screen on iPad 4 without image retention so I went back to the 3, plus the difference was greatest for games which I don't really do. Everything else, it was certainly similar and not the same as the benchmark difference would have suggested. The new iPad 5's seem nice design and all, but my iPad 3 works great for mostly watching movies and surfing the web. it's not like I'm fiending to do it. And I need jB, and i need one with an excellent screen, I'm picky. Not really interested in doing the return game/screen lottery.
I got retina pad, LTE-strapped iphone, and an i5 Air, I'm set.
Yes with iPad 4, the CPU/GPU is better, but retina was what I craved most of all from iPad, and I got it.
With iPhone 5, the taller screen is nicer but I would have preferred wider and taller but less tall but to each his own, it's better than 3.5" imo, and I wouldn't have moved up from a 4S if it weren't for improved battery life (4S' was unbearable, only iPhone i had with an extended battery pack and my 5 I feel is sufficient and sometimes even excellent) and ultimately access to those LTE speeds. Even with just better battery and no LTE, I'd had to have thought long and hard. LTE was the decider. Even 4S i was gonna do without since I didn't want to touch the contract and wanted to hold out for the 5, but I found a trade too hard to pass up via Craigslist for my 4 and cash. But 4 to 5, undoubtedly a more significant upgrade and a no brainer.
And with Air, there's now Haswell (and even Ivy Bridge to succeed Sandy Bridge i have) but I'm still in a similar level of performance with my i5, and I don't have battery issues that much. More would be better, but I don't spend 12 hours at a cafe, much less 12 hours without being near AC with a laptop. A retina air would make me really want a new one, and even rMBP does as well, but I love the Air form factor and I'd be a bit sad to return to something thicker and heavier, albeit being 'not bad' in ergonomics.
I used to upgrade all the time, now I see less and less incentive. The main things I felt I needed to upgrade all my devices has been taken care of.
To prove how leaks don't matter (at least for me, though I guess I am a niche customer in several regards): If 5S had a new design, new internals, and a bigger screen, leak or no leak to steal the surprise thunder, I'd get it. Then it probably wouldn't be modestly called 5S, either. After JB, of course.
If 5S is finger print scanner, similar cam with better aperture and dual flash, over clocked A6 essentially, count me out, leaks or no leak to steal the thunder surprise (which is no surprise). Even after JB, most likely -- wouldn't be worth the hassle.
