They are, and they aren't. It depends on how you look at it.
I strongly dislike how I will be competing with applicants who only did internal mocks, and may look better on paper than I do, but at the same time I have the advantage of having practised and will know how to maximise my performance in this A2 year. I feel confident about my English Literature texts as I got an A grade in my AS exams, for instance, and I can rely on that A grade standard as it was externally assessed. On the other hand, I got 100% in Paper One History and had a bad day for Paper 2, so I came out with a B despite my work being the best in my year group. I have to rely on my references and other aspects of my application to prove to my chosen Universities that I am good enough for their courses. I have mixed feelings about the reforms.