It's not John Gruber's fault that Apple hits all these home runs. When Jordan's Bulls won title after title it wasn't hard for sports fans and journalists to keep saying how they were the best.
Eventually Apple is going to strike out with a major release but, at as far as phones go, this wasn't the year.
If Apple was judged on its merits, instead of through the reality distortion field, and managed to hit it out of the park every time, that would be one thing. But that's not how it works.
Apple has its cadre of reviewers, Gruber included, that manage to find something good to say no matter what Apple does, generally ignoring or whitewashing over the negatives.
Remember Apple Maps? It was a disaster. People got fired over it. Yet, Gruber found a way to write positively about it.
Eventually Apple is going to strike out with a major release but, at as far as phones go, this wasn't the year.