Good marketing WILL absolutely help in selling terrible products.
Fortunately (for my wallet), Steve Jobs was MUCH better at selling than Tim Cook is. Tim is somewhat succeeding in making me want the new iPhone. Steve would have convinced me I needed it.
So the difference is that now I'm actually stopping to think before buying, and realizing that I'd be getting a raw deal if I bought it.
It's also the first time in 5 years I'm considering switching to Android, but am trapped in the Apple ecosystem, sadly.