I really think Apples approach to cell phone cameras is a little bit too much of "me too". Consider:
- All the megapixels in the world don't make up for a real optical zoom.
- Some of the best things in life happen in low light.
- Real photographers want control over their cameras. Today's cell phone sensors do nothing for depth of field control for example. Likewise it is pretty darn hard to vary aperture on cell phone cameras.
- It wouldn't hurt the iPhone one bit if it got a bit thicker in one area to handle a far more advanced camera.
- More importantly putting better hardware in an iPhone doesn't mean that Apple has to follow past trends. Relight the optical path to make use of an edge. That way you have plenty of space for advance optics and even a big sensor.
- Quantum dot enhanced sensors would be beautiful.
Apple needs to innovate once again.
All fine and dandy, but let's not forget it's an iPhone, not an iCamera, and for the average person, the current specs are satisfactory. You're never going to get resolution or contrast levels on a phone, any phone, that are the staple of even a modest SLR. Getting such specs on a cell phone would entail much larger sensors and better processors at the very least, and require major compromises in size and weight, that most phone users wouldn't care enough about. Most users would rather get better phone performance and/or battery life.
"Real photographers" won't use a cellphone camera for any serious photography.