We always have long wish lists for newer features and further redesigns, but the bottom line is this: nobody knows exactly what we'll get until Tim Cook reveals it on stage later this year.
That said, we've got plenty of educated guesses. With that caveat firmly in place:
Likely:
Odds are strong that the immediate successor to the iPhone 5 will debut in the summer to autumn time frame (June to October). The release will all but certainly coincide with the availability of iOS 7. Moreover, if it follows Apple's previous history, the new iPhone will have the same design but with tweaked innards, in the spirit of the iPhone 4S and 3GS.
Beyond those obvious notes, the areas that seem most ripe for updating on the "iPhone 5S" would be the resolution of the cameras. And now that there's a 128GB iPad, maybe there will finally be a 128GB iPhone option, too.
iPhone 6: 9 most-wanted features (pictures)
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Everything else is pretty much a crapshoot. A bigger screen? CEO Tim Cook says no -- but saying one thing and doing the opposite would hardly be a first for Apple. Beyond a screen size change, though, Apple could also go with a different technology -- say, Igzo or OLED.
There are plenty of other unknowns, too. Will there be another iPhone that debuts before a fall model? Could the iPhone product line split into several differently sized models? Will an affordable "new" budget-line iPhone emerge? Will Apple finally add NFC to the iPhone, as part of a new mobile payments scheme? Anything could happen. Or not.
As more rumors emerge, they'll be added here.
The rumors thus far:
January 29, 2013
Low-cost iPhone will be like a plastic iPhone 5, claims site
The much-rumored budget iPhone will borrow many elements from the current model but use a plastic design, says iLounge. The site claims the budget phone will be something like a fusion of the iPhone 5 and fifth-gen iPod Touch.
January 27, 2013
Images of alleged next-gen iPhone components surface
A French blog posts images of what it says are speaker components for the next round of Apple smartphones, what it calls an iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. Blurry, close-up shots of speaker components don't tell much of a story, though.
January 25, 2013
iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini rumors afoot: Upgraded iPhone rear camera
According to another iLounge report, the iPhone 5S will feature a 13-megapixel rear camera from Sony.
(Credit: Apple Digger RU) Renderings tease what a 4.8-inch iPhone would look like
Continuing along the rumor that Apple is preparing an even larger-screened iPhone for 2014 (see below), Russian Apple news site Apple Digger created renderings of what such a device would look like. This is speculation on top of rumor.
January 22, 2013
Bigger iPhone still coming -- just not this year, report says
If you're holding out for a 5-inch iPhone, you might have to wait until 2014, a new report from DigiTimes (which must be taken with a whole shaker of salt) claims.
January 22, 2013
Rumor: 4.8-inch iPhone to debut in June
A Google translation from the Chinese language Commercial Times points to a larger-screened iPhone in time for the Worldewide Developers Conference. While it's a sketchy rumor, it seems reasonable that Apple will get serious about taking on smartphones like Samsung's 4.8-inch Galaxy S3.
Nak Design's concept art for the iPhone 6.