Reply to all...

The thing is... When you can't get your hands on the real thing, it's benchmark that tells a little part about the phone.

Benchmark also tells the RAW performance of the phone itself.

And... I do agree that benchmark means nothing in practical usage but for the purpose of surveying/research/looking around to fill my free time, what else can I see without looking at benchmark?

No matter it's battery benchmark/GPU benchmark/CPU benchmark, it tells at least a little about the performance of the phone. Just for fun, as a hobby or anything

Benchmark still makes sense. Else why all the review website (engadget, gsmarena, phonearena etc etc) still includes them in their review? [You may try to answer this question ]

I think because there are audience who look up at benchmark more. I read more on the pro and cons though