Random rant na enem drugem forumu, precej nepovezano vse skupaj pa vseeno sta vsaj 2 ideji taki ki bi jih apple (kot "trendsetter" kar ni več btw) lahko imel
LTE, faster, better camera? That's all you can come up with? That's... a little disappointing.
If Apple had put NFC into the phone, I guarantee you that companies working on mobile payments would no longer be dragging their feet, as the user critical mass for it would (theoretical users at least) finally be in place. There are actually plenty of payment terminals out there already that have the hardware to support contactless payments.
How about instead of continuously shrinking the thickness of the phone, they use that extra space for battery, a la RAZR MAXX? Two days between charges for the iPhone? That would be a big deal.
How about giving advanced users the option to enable real multitasking? I'm sick of my IRC app dying after 10 minutes because I'm idling in it. Sparrow could have had background updating much sooner without having to fork over money hand over fist in order to run their own secure push system.
Want to get crazy? How about having a touch-sensitive back like the Vita, which would improve gaming controls? Or plugless charging and syncing? They wouldn't be first, not after the Palm Pre, and certainly not now after the new Lumia was announced to have it, but it would still be nifty to the masses. Maybe have a camera shutter button, a real two-stage one for focusing instead of the stiff volume button that shakes the phone a little when you press it. Style-wise, why not a ceramic back?
Want to get really insane? Solar cell on the back for trickle charging. Squeeze-sensitive sides for contextual input. An MVNO that worked on multiple telcos, maybe combined with mesh networking. A stretchable/unfurlable screen. Bone conduction "earpiece". Smell-o-vision. Okay, maybe not smell-o-vision.
Steve Jobs was definitely right about one thing: waiting for the average customer to tell you what they want doesn't get you anywhere.
EDIT: Some folks think this is all just a bunch of spaghetti thrown at the wall. And you know what? Yeah, there isn't anything coherent about this; I was just spitballing. But let's see if we can't string a few of them together into something of a sellable narrative, okay?
Let's take the bone conduction earpiece I mentioned. Add in the plugless sync/charge. Throw in a surface patch mic (still no good compared to a regular mic right now, but hey, this is for a future phone and Apple has $100 billion in cash; surely they can figure it out). Apple already has a patent filing for turning the surface of a screen into a speaker, so let's add that in. Now seal it in ceramic and the like. Bundle in a pair of Bluetooth A2DP headphones and/or sell--this is better; Apple makes more money this way after all--a WiFi direct stream (already possible via Bluetooth HS) audio dongle for your headphones.
What have you got? Oh, I don't know, just a phone that you never have to worry about getting wet again. Why? Because you've taken care of all the possible inlets for water: speakers, mic, audio jack, and plug contacts.