iPod iPod shuffle 5th gen

I have the 5th gen nano, so based on my usage of the thin built-in speaker on that, I'll comment on your first point:

I strongly doubt it.

Why? Well, for one, it would necessarily make the clip thicker. Two, Apple would have to get power to the speaker somehow, and the thin, spring-loaded clip doesn't appear to have much room for wires to such a speaker. Three, since the clip is underneath clothing or pressed against your body most of the time, placing the speaker in the clip may affect overall volume.

Finally, based on the audio quality of my nano's built-in speaker, the OCD part of you would be quite disappointed in the resulting sound output. The shuffle is simply not big enough to house a speaker that can reproduce low frequency (bass) sounds with any appreciable volume.

Bluetooth capability may be a more doable feature at this point.

I've looked at the patent, and I must admit I'm intrigued. My comments on the sound quality still stand, though. You might find it adequate for sharing a song or two with a friend, but most find it lacking for extended listening. The positioning of the speaker (on the interior side of the clip) would indeed require removal from clothing in order to hear the speaker clearly.

Also, note the date on the article you cited: November 2011. At that time, the nano was in its 6th gen (clip) phase, and resembled a larger shuffle with a small touch screen; the nano has since reverted to its "mini-bar" form factor. I could see how a small speaker that vents through the Lightning and/or headphone port of the 7th gen nano might work, provided there's enough room to fit the speaker module.

I'd agree to a storage jump of the shuffle to 4 GB for larger and/or higher bitrate files and longer playlists. The first ever piece of modern Apple hardware I owned was a 2nd gen nano with 4 GB, which to me is a "sweet spot" of sorts for ultra-portable music players that don't play video.

i doubt apple will change the shuffle again, if they do it wont be anything exciting.
Look at the 1st gen shuffle and the newest 4th gen shuffle, the only real change apple has done is the size.