iPhone 6: 10 must-have new features

Biometric security

It's hardly a must-have upgrade, but it would be cool to swipe with your finger -- instead of entering a password -- to unlock your phone. It could also be combined with NFC (near-field communication technology -- see next slide) for making mobile payments.

Image note: Allegedly, Apple has filed some patents related to this feature.

Chances of implementation: 15 percent

Integrated activity tracker

With activity trackers being so hot these days, maybe it's about time Apple built one into the iPhone. I'll leave that one to Apple's vaunted engineers to figure out, but it seems so unecessary to clip an extra accessory to your belt or wear one around your wrist when you have mini computer in your pocket with gyroscopes, accelerometers, various sensors, and whatnot.

Chances of implementation: 10 percent

NFC-enabled (near-field communication technology)

Leading up to the release of what turned out to be the iPhone 4S, rumor had it that Apple may have been working on integrating NFC (near-field communication) technology into the next iPhone (it's available in some Android phones, such as Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4). This is sort of a bar code replacement technology that enables your iPhone to act as a payment device (e-wallet) or even a car key.

With the unveiling of iO7, which doesn't appear to have support for NFC, it looks like this feature will once again be left out of the next iPhone. Apple has a tendency to hold back on technology that it doesn't think is fully mature and ready for prime time, and it obviously feels that way about NFC. It also seems to think that its Passbook feature, which lets users store and quickly access electronic versions of all their tickets, boarding passes, and merchant cards in one place, is all users need at this time without tying into merchant payment systems.

In a 2012 interview, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller said that it isn't clear that NFC is a solution to any current problem. "Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today," he said.

That doesn't mean that Apple won't go ahead later on and use it as a selling point for a future iPhone.

Chances of implementation: 5 percent

More storage

As far back as June 2010 there was chatter about Toshiba's new 128GB Nand Flash memory modules. But currently the iPhone maxes out at 64GB and famously has no expandable memory option. Most people think 64GB is enough. Still, after the iPad went to 128GB, some folks are itching for a 128GB iPhone, even if it would carry a price tag of over $500 (and maybe $600) with a contract.

Chances of implementation: 20 percent

Better Siri

Apple has so far overpromised and underdelivered with Siri, the built-in voice-control feature, which has been surpassed by Google Now. It improved a little with the iPhone 5 and as part of iOS 7, it will get new features, including the option to choose between a female and male voice. Will it get even better with a performance bump? Sure. But it still might take a couple more generations to turn it into a true personal digital assistant.

Chances of implementation: 90 percent

Built-in inductive charging 

Right now, if you want to charge your phone's battery using inductive "wireless" charging, you have to buy a separate charging sleeve (case) and charging mat for your device.

Companies like Powermat and Energizer make inductive charging products for a variety of smartphones. However, if you could do away with the sleeve and have the inductive-charging chip built into the phone, you'd only have to buy a mat (and you could use whatever case you wanted to use).

Qi (pronounced "chee"), a new standard for inductive charging as established by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), is pushing to get manufacturers to integrate Qi chips into their devices, and we've been waiting for Qi-enabled smartphones to hit the market (a few, including the Nokia Lumia 920, offer wireless charging). No such luck with the iPhone 5, but at some point in the future we think the iPhone will get some sort of inductive-charging chip integrated into it.

Chances of implementation: 10 percent

Widgets/customizable home screen

One of the often-cited advantages of Android is the ability to add widgets and customize your phone so that you can get to most-used apps, settings, and other useful information more quickly. iOS certainly has some customization and organization options, but they just aren't robust enough.

With iOS7, we'll get a new Control Panel that offers quick access to most-used settings such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airplane mode (a feature long available on Android models). It's a welcome addition but doesn't necessarily offer the higher degree of customization that some users are looking for.

Chances of implementation: 5 percent

Faster processor, improved 3D graphics

Hey, it's an obvious one, but we've gotta say it.

Apple has consistently improved the iPhone's graphics capabilities with each new iteration of it, and not surprisingly, we've come to expect a performance boost (and would be disappointed if we didn't get one). Apple says the dual-core A6 chip has a 2x performance boost over the A5 chip found in the iPhone 4S. It's also smaller and allegedly more energy efficient.

Chances of implementation: 90 percent

Even bigger screen

Yes, the iPhone 5 is taller than the iPhone 4/4S and slimmer (18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter), but it basically looks like an elongated iPhone 4. All that talk in 2011 about a teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 turns out to be a fantasy (at least for now). And yes, the screen's larger (4 inches diagonally), but a lot of people wanted Apple to go wider and taller -- not just taller.

Rumors continue to percolate that Apple will do a larger iPhone -- but it probably won't happen in 2013. The most talked-about scenario is Apple trotting out an iPhone 5S in October along with with a lower-cost "budget" iPhone. The iPhone 5S will look identical to the iPhone 5 but will be improved on the inside.

Chances of implementation: 10 percent

Better battery life

We know. We're asking a lot for a phone with a faster processor and graphics chip to also improve on battery life, but the fact is, some people were hoping Apple could really make a statement with much better battery life than that of its Android competitors. True, the rated battery life of the iPhone 5 appears to be slightly better than that of iPhone 4S -- and just keeping pace with last year's battery life while adding 4G speeds would be an achievement -- but we'd like to see a much more significant leap in the next model. Plenty of people would trade a slightly thicker phone for better battery life.

With the updated MacBook Airs showing such big jumps in their battery-life ratings, there's increased hope that Apple is making battery life a priority in the next iPhone.

Chances of implementation: 50 percent