It is critical for Apple to leap ahead of the competition once again this summer, with the launch of their forth generation iPhone.
1)  let’s get the name out of the way. Since this phone will be the 4th generation, and it will be running the 4.0 OS, the odds are it will simply be called iPhone 4. (It’s unlikely to be called iPhone 4G, since it won’t support 4G mobile networks, and this whole “3GS” thing is getting unwieldy, and more like a complicated Sony product name than an elegant Apple one).

2)  The use of plastics is eminently practical in terms of signal strength, but they look terrible, and feel cheap in the hand. It seems likely that Apple will find a way to introduce an aluminum unibody enclosure to the iPhone 4, tying into the look of the rest of their mobile range. It would be wise to key into the look of the new iPad and MacBooks, and from a sales perspective it’s key for iPhone 4 to be a clearly radical departure if it’s going to generate sales from previous iPhone owners.

Perhaps we can also finally expect to see that elusive front-mounted camera. And given that the iPhone OS now supports multiple resolutions, a higher resolution screen is also eminently possible. Perhaps we’ll even be able to pinch and zoom the icons on the Springboard. A higher resolution screen also makes dashboard widgets for the default Springboard screen more likely – it’s hard to believe that Apple will sit by while Android and Windows Phone 7 Series are enjoying this feature.