I will never buy a phone that doesn't have GrapheneOS, so that limits me to Pixels.

I want a phone with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, those are apparently a niche feature nowadays. The optical readers are terrible by comparison.

This is going to be such a stretch and I doubt this would ever happen, but if you could get a decently sized camera sensor on the back of a phone and a mirror less style lens mount...I would sell my DLSR in a heartbeat.

I loved the IR Blaster on my old Galaxy S4, was really fun to mess with the TV's in public places with it sometimes and was also pretty useful at home as well!

It's the rear fingerprint reader for me, I use the pulldown action constantly. That and stereo front-facing speakers.

Basically an Asus Zenfone 9 with a removable battery and an Sd card. Also, make the front like Sony phones - larger bezels on the top and the bottom of the display and house stereo speakers and front camera there instead of a cutout.

Larger, swappable battery. Squeeze for assistant

• Removable battery
• Ambidextrous button placement
• Screws instead of glue where possible
• USB4 + desktop mode

An ir blaster, great as a universal remote

A full physical QWERTY keypad on my 3rd hand Blackberry Bold (in 2013) was the best thing I had seen on a cell phone. I wish full physical QWERTY keyboards would make a comeback.

Phone upgrades.
Battery.. Non lithuim. Flexible and new. []
Flexible screen. Wrist strap or just flexible. []
Fitness/health capabilities. []
Usb 3.1 reversible.. Proper specs [x]
Wireless charging. Using new WiFi microwave to charge phone without mat. Wattup []
Better nfc/Google pay [x]
Smaller screen oled,s than 5.5 []
Better speakers none conduction or ceramic
Encryption []
Bezelless. Screen to screen hole cut out. 2018 []
Solar panel in screen. Sapphire glass. Smudge and germ

This list was created a few years ago.

Some things have been implemented but not all.

Plastic back and a removable/user replaceable battery.

Yeah yeah I know it "feels cheap" but honestly I LIKED when phones were made of more plastic. Now they're heavier and both sides are breakable. Like, the metal backs were fine, but apparently metal backs suck for NFC and wireless charging so instead of giving us some classy Nokia Lumia style plastic they went with glass backs.

Also I keep my phone in a case because otherwise the back is so smooth it shoots off the couch if someone walks across my apartment. It's legit only in the case to add some friction.

I just want a new Droid with a slide-out keyboard

I've had every one of them until the Droid 4 and they never released a new one

One without a damn camera, I swear to God most of the price goes into having "quality cameras" I never end up using.

IR blaster

Headphone jack. I've used multiple LG phones before, currently using the LG V60 and seems like Sony is the only way to go in the future, unfortunately.

true background process management and battery

A phone built somewhat like a desktop PC. All parts replaceable or even upgradable. Choose the components for your needs and budget, or buy a pre-built.
But let's get to more standard smartphone concept.
On software side, no bootloader locks, or easily unlockable bootloader (not requiring internet) and root access that could be enabled in developer settings.

On hardware side:
IR blaster - Control your AC, TV, etc.
Front-facing stereo speakers - could give a better stereo sound. And bezels aren't a big problem. Actually they can be positive as you can hold your phone better with them.
Headphone jack - Obvious. Would be cool if it had mode for composite output, but that's quite extra.
Dedicated fingerprint scanner on front - I had this on Moto G5s Plus. It allowed awesome gesture navigation, much better than using whatever on-screen.
Trackpoint - Early Androids used to have that. Would definitely be useful with large screens.
FM, HD Radio, DAB, DAB+, DVB-T2 Lite receiver - Radio is pretty useful. AM would also be nice, though you would need external antenna better than cable from earphones. I think FM radio is the minimum here.
TV Receiver - Just like with radio, except now you're saving much more on mobile data.
Camera with optical zoom - We've been there with Samsung in the past. But I understand it makes things too large and heavy.
Projector - We've been there with Samsung in the past, again. I think it was done pretty nicely on the projector part with Beam 2. It didn't even add much thickness. Just the rest of the phone was meh.

I'm on a Fold 4 now and I do love the novelty/oddity aspect of having a folding tablet.

But I would love to see the return of IR blasters on most phones and sliding phones for physical keyboards.

I enjoyed the squeeze to activate assistant on Pixel 2 XL..just felt right. I even configured it to activate flashlight when I needed a quick light.

duck duck go tracker blocking that doesn't use vpn technology

Foldable display - They are still way too expensive!

Metal case - I just loved the heavy Samsung Omnia metal case. It made it unbreakable and grippy!

Removable dual display like in LG G8x, V60 etc. When you need it you can have a beast of a phone with 2 screen or a slim normal flagship.

Better system font/typeface selection and a way to install new ones. I know it's a petty gripe, but the default android options are few and terrible.

Slide out controller, like the Xperia Play. I've gotten super into (at least the idea of) SBC handheld gaming, and there's just nothing quite like the Xperia Play now. Sure, there's bluetooth controllers, but I'm not a big fan of bluetooth, and the majority of the bluetooth controllers make portability a pain rather than it being a sleek package.

Ability to use the screen as a display through the USB port so I can debug a lot of my systems at home without needing to carry a monitor around.