The point remains - they're adding a bunch of features for free and most users will benefit from them. I'm far more interested in account unification and improvements to the phone app than 3D maps. Your inference that the update is a dud for older devices doesn't ring true.
Sorry, I should've said "What's your point?" instead of "What's the point (in the update)", the first question is what I meant.
I don't see the OPs point as 3GSs getting the update aren't better off than Android devices on 2.3 which still have access to many backported Android APIs.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4096633