Apple has spent the last decade making the iPhone better without making it look all that different. That streak is expected to end in 2027, the year the iPhone turns 20, and the reporting so far points to the most dramatic redesign since the iPhone X.
Here is what the current wave of reports and supply chain leaks actually claims, and how much confidence each one deserves.
Why 2027 is the year Apple goes big
The first iPhone went on sale in 2007, so 2027 marks two decades. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has repeatedly described a special anniversary model in the works, and MacRumors’ running roundup frames it as Apple’s biggest visual change since 2017.
The pattern matches history. Apple used the iPhone’s 10th anniversary to launch the iPhone X, the phone that introduced the all-screen layout, the notch, and Face ID.
The name might skip straight to iPhone 20
Nothing about the name is official. Analysts at Omdia have predicted Apple will bypass “iPhone 19” and jump directly to “iPhone 20” so the number lines up with the anniversary, a move reported by 9to5Mac and PCMag.
Apple already did something similar with software when it renamed its operating systems to iOS 26 to match the calendar year, so a numbering jump is plausible. For now, treat “iPhone 20” as a widely used placeholder rather than a confirmed brand.
A quad-curved, all-glass body
The headline rumor is a body that looks like a single slab of glass. According to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station, cited by CNET and MacRumors, Apple has asked Samsung Display for an “equal-depth quad-curved” panel that bends gently over every edge, so the aluminum rail all but vanishes when you look at the screen head-on.
These are described as shallow micro-curves rather than the steep waterfall edges Samsung used years ago, which should keep the phone comfortable to hold. One report points to a bezel as thin as 1.1mm.
Worth a caveat: a source with a solid track record told MacRumors in 2025 that the anniversary model may not go fully all-screen after all, so the finished design could be less radical than the flashiest renders suggest.
Under-display Face ID and no cutouts
The goal, per MacRumors, is to bury both Face ID and the selfie camera beneath the panel so nothing is punched into the front glass at all. Whether Apple can ship that in volume by fall 2027 is the open question, which keeps this among the least certain claims on the list.
Solid-state buttons built into the frame
Another claim targets the buttons: the Side, Volume, Action, and Camera Control keys would stop being moving parts. In their place, pressure-sensitive zones molded into the frame would fire a haptic buzz to mimic a click, with nothing physically depressing, much like the old Home button on the iPhone 7. Apple has tested and shelved this approach before, so it belongs in the believe it when we see it column.
Chip, battery, and display
The anniversary phones are expected to run a second-generation 2-nanometer chip, reported as the A21, possibly paired with faster memory to speed up data transfer.
Louder claims, including a “pure silicon” battery with roughly double the life, come from YouTube coverage rather than established supply chain reporters, so those deserve the most skepticism. Separately, a leaker cited by 9to5Mac in July 2026 suggested Apple is trialing its largest iPhone screen yet, though the model that display lands in is unconfirmed.
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Two sizes, plus a foldable sibling
Bloomberg’s reporting describes not one commemorative phone but two, matching the footprints of this September’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. In practice that likely points to a roughly 6.3 inch model and a 6.9 inch one, both sharing the A21 chip with the second-generation foldable due in the same window.
Why it may have to be built in China
One detail says a lot about the ambition. Gurman reports the anniversary design is so “extraordinarily complex” that Apple plans to build it in China, even as it moves most iPhone production to India. When a company shifts its supply chain for tariff reasons but keeps one phone back home, that phone is clearly not a routine update.
When to expect it
Current reporting points to a fall 2027 launch, following a spring 2027 lineup that is rumored to include the standard iPhone 18, the iPhone 18e, and a second iPhone Air. Before any of that, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected this September.
The bottom line
Almost everything about the 20th anniversary iPhone is still rumor, and the two features that would make it feel truly new, the seamless glass body and under-display Face ID, are also the two Apple has struggled with the longest.
What stays consistent across sources is intent. Apple is treating 2027 as a milestone worth a real redesign, not just a spec bump. If even half of these reports hold, the anniversary iPhone will be the biggest change to the product since 2017.
NOTE: Cover image is AI-generated only.
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