I found the video somewhat humorous, it seems like the list was crowd sourced so it's not all on CNET.
But the thing that I think many people miss with an idea like a Surface Phone (journalists, general consumers & even some Windows Phone fans) is that it's not about individual features or feature parity with other platforms or even specific hardware specs. It's about a new experience or a new way to use the device as a whole, that's what could make the Surface Phone a success.
Like how the iPhone 'invented' the smartphone, it took some existing features and technologies, added some refinements and focussed on making a great user experience (something that most other manufacturers weren't doing well at the time). It opened up the smartphone to a much broader audience and made it integral to people's lives.
I think the Surface devices so far have done the same thing, a 2-in-1 and stylus support wasn't unique but Microsoft has done it better and in a way that is accessible to a broad range of users and adds value to their workflow. Things like quality, usable, inking support that is now adding value throughout the whole OS and apps is one example of this. Microsoft's 'mobility of experience' or whatever is an example as well from a purely software side, having notifications (& now SMS) syncing across platforms.
I think a Surface Phone has a chance to do this too. Really consider the kinds of things that people do while mobile and re-think how those could be best serviced by a mobile device. That could be stuff like great inking/note-taking support, making continuum relevant for a broader audience, integration with wearables, extending Cortana's insights or a heap of other things, but I think it's the collection of these things and they way they are implemented that matters more than a 'killer feature' or 'killer spec' on it's own.