Apple didn't try to fool anybody. Anybody who paid any attention to the Keynote would know that. They clearly said there were stereo speakers and that the ear piece functioned as one of them and that they gave stereo sound in the landscape orientation.
There would be no benefit in stereo sound with both speakers at the bottom because of the lack of separation. I don't think any iPhones ever had two speakers at the bottom.Years ago when flip phones were the rage, phones boasted stereo speakers but with no DSP and maybe 2" of separation, it was just crap mono sound.
Apparently Apple engineers are smarter than many people give them credit for. The holes on the left side of the phone are for symmetry, not shenanigans.