The iPhone 4 had a gorgeous retina display, the 4S gave us Siri.

If there's one thing I'd love Apple to come up with, then it would be amazing battery life. Battery life is one thing that hurts us the most when we it comes to Smartphones.

Battery life will probably improve because the main power sucker - the radio chipsets and the display - will improve. The new battery for the iPhone actually has a LOWER capacity! :)

Fingers crossed. If there's one reason I've not moved to 3G yet then it's battery life. I don't mind a slightly slower connection as long as there's enough juice left in my phone.

- NFC (with a twist)
- New connector => something new will come along
- Payments

The rest are pretty much expected, like processor, ram upgrade, newer network components, design change, Siri on steroids.

I wouldn't mind USB3 support for faster syncing. With due respect to wifi sync - it sucks ostrich eggs speed wise.

But I suspect the "big" feature will be the wallet-like function.

I am looking forward to the new maps. Turn by turn navigation is one feature that I sorely miss and I currently have to make do with 3rd party apps. I guess with the M&A that Apple has done in this space , I guess we can see some innovation here.

Fingerprint sensor for mobile payments is the requirement I am hearing!

* The big thing - Payments, with or without NFC. It will just work!

* The little things - Better battery life (I pray!), slimmer, lighter yet stronger (thanks to the brushed aluminium back), Maps, better Siri

Better signal would be good. The iPhone 3 had much better reception, but since the iPhone 4 with its metal edge the reception is much weaker. It's all very well having the greatest smart phone, but please Apple - don't forget the 'phone' part!

I would like to see an adaptor come with the new iPhone, as we probably all have accessories with the (what will be) older connector. I use my iPhone in the car, at work & at the summer house. Thats a lot of cables & accessories. Its like starting over again, annoying.

I'm looking forward to Siri being integrated more with geo-location and geo-fencing for a more integrated life. There are apps out there now and ones that are gaining traction that recognize your patterns in behaviour and will acquire information based on that. i.e. automagically suggesting alternate routes, reminders based on conversations you're having, gas prices based on your driving route, etc. Maybe one day we'll see this in a native app!

Slim design with no margin and bigger screen. that will be enough for me.

This branch is getting crowded and I'm not seeing anything interesting coming out.
If it's just an invite you're looking for to try out branch then here's one I've created - branch.com

One small feature that I would like would be in Safari to be able to search text on the page as you can do with desktop browser...

@hawii you'll be surprised to know that this feature is already there in iOS Safari.
Just start typing the text you want to search in the search box on top right - search suggestions will show up first, scroll down in that list and you'll see the search results for text in the page.

@Praveen woah, way to hide that... I looked all over it never thought of looking in the search box, LOL thanks!

iPhone 5 will be thinner, will have a larger screen and a more efficient battery. Additional enhancements will bring the ios6, as usual.

Bigger screen and better battery live. And I'm sure something unexpected.

I would like to see those NEC batteries which appeared a couple of months ago which not only have an increased life but a lighting recharge!
techon.nikkeibp.co.jp
I won't expect any revolutionary improvement in payments but I'm sure iPhone will have complete payment system so Apple will act as a intermediary for ordinary payments! The final fate for iTunes account is to be our new credit card!

I think the new iPhone feature it's going to be the new design itself.
If we remember the iPhone 4 release, it was the design the principal feature (including FaceTime, Retina Display, camera improvements, etc).
Due to the recent 4-inch display rumors, it appears that the mayor overhaul it's going to be the design again (if the rumors are right, of course).
NFC... I don't know. The technology could appear since the iPhone 4, why now? We've discovered that Passbook can handle it on it's own without it.

iPhone - Original CPU + 2G Internet + Native Apps
iPhone 3G - Faster CPU + New Design + 3G + 3rd party apps
iPhone 3GS - Faster CPU + 7.2mbps 3G + Video recording
iPhone 4 - Faster CPU + New Design + HSUPA + Facetime
iPhone 4S - Faster CPU + 14.4mbps HSDPA + Siri

If history is any guide:

iPhone 5 - Faster CPU + New Design + LTE + (One more thing)

One more thing could be:
NFC, New Dock Connector, new design materials/incredibly thin.

My bet is that the 4 inch display and the 7.8mm thinness and LTE will be *the* features in the iPhone 5.

Design is a big deal in every other iPhone, and improved speed is a big deal in every iPhone. LTE is widespread enough for Apple to put into iPad, so it makes sense to add it to the iPhone as well.

Although unlikely, I'd like the iPhone to focus on its core functionality - telephone. Signal has been horrendous on the last few releases so that needs sorting out. It would also be interesting to see FaceTime technology extended to VOIP, allowing audio conversations to piggyback WiFi technology.

In reality, I expect NFC to be the next big thing, allowing payments with your device in participating vendors (Starbucks are bound to jump on that one).

I think that the "new" feature of the next iPhone will be the improved performance of the new iOS version and its stability. Maybe we'll see a new design, NFC or whatever, but only improving its functionality as phone and improving its current features will beat its rivals.

@Gustavo: Performance upgrades are the S upgrades (3G to 3GS, 4 to 4S). Some new software, a better processor, but from a distance you cant tell the two apart.

It's clear that Apple is building a new body for the phone, and it's also clear that iOS 6 will run on The New iPad, so it's hard for me to believe that they'll tout iOS 6 on The New iPhone with the same ferocity that they've been advertising Siri for the past year.

Apple has 30 seconds to explain why you should buy the iPhone 5. Stability and iOS 6 (as we know it right now) aren't sexy enough for that. Thus, it's got to be NFC, an ultra-thin design (which has been confirmed), or 4G LTE speed. All of those qualify.

TL;DR: If it's not sexy, it's not "One more thing..." material.

The big thing for the next iPhone will be the new wider display. A better entertainment device for movies and tv-series, and a extension for the apple tv on the road.

"One more thing..." would be NFC, but this is something that I'm uncertain about. But they could partner up with some US companies and expand it later.

Then they will drop the 5, and just call it the new iPhone

It seems that NFC is the feature that would be the most inconspicuous. There hasn't been much talk of it as far as it being a sure thing; just mostly a 'that'd be cool' kind of thing.

I believe that everyone expects a faster processor, LTE and the thinner design.

If we hear a "One more thing.. The New iPhone will have NFC." on the 12th, I'd be quite happy with that.

@Bernie, looks like you're going to be disappointed. macrumors.com just posted some analysis that show an NFC chip would take up more room than the new iPhone (which I agree @WestN {nice catch there} will very likely be the name for it given what they did with the iPad.

So that leaves thin, fast, LTE. The more I think about it, the more that sounds like the new iPad ads. It's extremely fast, it has a brilliant screen, its design leaves everyone else in the dust. Using the same message for the new iPhone allows them to stay consistent.

It's not about the hardware, it's how the hardware feels when you use it. That message just re-enforces what makes Apple different from, say, Samsung.

@Chris And just when you think it's nailed-down, this happens:

daringfireball.net

I guess NFC will definitely be a wait-and-see item as it's so polarizing.

Most everyone expects a thinner shell, a faster processor and LTE. That's why it wouldn't be a sexy 'One More Thing' to me.

NFC, on the other hand, would be because opinions are so split on whether it will actually happen.

Either way, it's definitely something that we'll all be watching for!

They don't source it. It's yahoo news bullshit.

iphone outside android inside.. would love it :D

I would like to see a few more user friendly functions in iOS 6, and particularly the new iPhone where users can use gestures to control brightness. Maybe a four finger swipe can increase and decrease display brightness.

Why does iPhone 5 need bigger screen? Great arguments supported with illustrations. Seems that iPhone 5 will be used more in a landscape mode

callmejeffrey.com