Apple makes a lot of money recycling last years parts into a new device. I think the disappearance of the "S" model will signify Apple is serious about staying competitive and putting out a good product for their loyal customers.
Exactly, and it was a great tactic that they could pull off before when there no real competitors/alternatives to the iPhone, but make no mistake, were almost in 2014, this is not the same market as in 2009 when they began the "S" revisions.
I believe releasing the 4S 15 months after the 4 was a huge mistake. What is now the iPhone 5 should have (and could have) been released then. So in my mind, since they released the iPhone 4S, they have been 1 year off on innovation hardware-wise. Once they release the iPhone with the 4.7-5.0 inch screen, they will be current with the market. Once they address the screen size issue, which they should do ASAP, they could do new iPhone (refreshments or new designs, depending on the current market conditions) every 15-18 months.
I have never had any major complaints with the iOS, and the small ones I had are being addressed in iOS 7, so my issues with the iPhone are purely hardware-wise. The reason I still use the iPhone is that I love the iOS and the other apple products (see signature) and love the ecosystem.
Before thinking on new gimmick features such as the fingerprint sensor, which sounds like a gimmick feature that Samsung would come up with along with the other many gimmicks they put on the S4, Apple needs to improve on the basics, and that is the screen size. There is a market and use for a bigger screen, just like there was a market and use for the iPad mini. In time we will know, but I assume that there are a lot of executives who know that this needs to be done (just like when the brought up the iPad mini), but it seems that too many decision makers are scared of making any adjustments to Mr. Jobs gameplan for the iPhone. And that's what worries me about the future, not having the guts to do what they need to do. Playing it safe and not being the trend setters. I pray that Android quickly makes big improvements on their weaknesses of the OS so that they force Apple to step out of their comfort zone.
Fanboys will always defend apple's ways. They did not want a screen bigger that the 3.5. Now we have a 4 inch and now they're ok with it. Just wait, once we have the 4.7 inch they will love it too. That's why I have learned to just ignore their clueless comments and views.
Again, this is not 2009, pretty soon it'll be 2014.