I'm not sure they can entirely get rid of it without adding more antennae lines, but I don't understand the details. I do think it can definitely be smaller and they chose that size for a design reason that many don't agree with.
EDIT: After reading the evening news brief (Thursday, Oct. 6), I would change the fact that Verizon will control the update roll-outs on the phone I am now calling the "Vixel"
Front facing speaker....but reserve judgement until we have actual reviews on the sound. A close second would be a better IP rating, even though it really is not a concern for me it would just be nice to have it IP65 at least.
For those on one of our apps, this thread has a poll attached to it that you can see from a browser if you want to vote. We have a lot of folks chiming in with water resistance and zero votes, which makes me suspect most are mobile.