I haven't seen much in the way of specifics of what iOS 7 is supposed to bring, but from what I have seen it really seems to be catching up to Ice Cream Sandwich, or at least 65% of the way. Expected to add NFC (3rd time in a row for this rumor), streaming music, mobile payment system (for some reason not going with any of the existing options, going with their own... again), a UI update (not overhaul, just update apparently) and a little more customization options for users.
Am I missing something? The iPhone 5 did catch up to 2011 devices in hardware, except the screen (beautiful screen, but too small and low pixel count by modern standards). Now they're going to catch up most of the way to 2011 on the software side of things.
Maybe 2014 or 2015 to see a 5" 1080p display on top of a 2ghz or so quadcore with 2gb RAM and software that allows for easy cross-platform communication, regardless of what eco-system they invest in?
I'm not saying Apple is bad or the iPhone is bad, etc. I'm saying they need a game changer and to stop trying to play catchup. In 2011 when they were passed, they stood still and didn't respond until a year later. A plateau is not our friend.