As Apple approaches the 20th anniversary of the iPhone in 2027, it appears the tech giant is preparing to celebrate the milestone not just with fanfare, but with one of its most daring and futuristic gadgets yet. According to Bloomberg’s reliable Apple reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a groundbreaking iPhone launch for late 2027.
In his recent Power On newsletter, Gurman revealed that the anniversary edition iPhone will be “mostly glass” and sport a “curved” design with no visible cutouts on the display. This isn’t just a small upgrade it’s a complete design overhaul that may finally deliver on a dream Apple has been inching toward for years: the holy grail of smartphone design a true all-screen gadgets.
If 2017’s iPhone X represented Apple’s first major leap into the future of smartphones with its edge-to-edge OLED display, Face ID, and the controversial removal of the home button then 2027’s iPhone could be the next bold step.
The anniversary model will reportedly lean heavily into glass as a design element, and not just as a screen material. Gurman suggests a curved glass design that eliminates any display interruptions. No notch. No Dynamic Island. No hole-punch. Just pure, unbroken screen a clean canvas of glass from edge to edge.
Though details remain sparse, the concept sounds a lot like the wraparound glass iPhone that Apple has patented in recent years. Whether it’s that exact vision or a more refined variation, it’s clear the Cupertino company is working toward something dramatically different.
A Foldable First, But the Glass iPhone is the Main Event
Before we see this glass marvel, Apple is rumored to launch its first foldable iPhone possibly as early as 2026. This would be a massive change in itself, marking Apple’s formal entry into a category dominated so far by Samsung, Huawei, and other Android competitors. But interestingly, Gurman suggests the foldable isn’t the company’s main event rather, it will be a stepping stone to what comes next.
The glass iPhone, slated for late 2027, seems to be the culmination of years of experimentation and iteration from foldables and ceramic builds to Dynamic Island and under-display technology. Apple is preparing to close the loop it started with iPhone X and finally deliver a phone that looks and feels like a seamless piece of futuristic hardware.
Under-Screen Tech: A Crucial Milestone
Getting rid of notches and camera cutouts has long been one of Apple’s design goals one that has eluded even the most advanced iPhones. But 2027’s model may finally achieve this through under-screen Face ID and, potentially, under-display front cameras. Gurman and others, including The Information’s Wayne Ma, have hinted that Apple is already working on these technologies and plans to debut under-screen Face ID in iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models as soon as 2026.
Ma’s reporting aligns closely with Gurman’s, revealing that Apple plans a split release strategy starting in 2026. Under this roadmap, the premium iPhone 18 Pro models would launch in the fall as usual, but the standard iPhone 18 may be delayed until spring 2027 likely to give Apple more time to refine its under-display technology.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also echoed this shift in release cadence, adding credibility to the theory that Apple is reorganizing its launch cycles in preparation for its most ambitious iPhone yet.
The idea of a fully wraparound iPhone isn’t new Apple filed a patent for one back in 2019. The concept imagines a phone that’s essentially a sheet of glass with a display that curves all the way around, replacing side buttons with touch-sensitive controls and maximizing visual real estate. It sounds outlandish, even futuristic. But 2027 is two years away, and if any company can refine such an audacious design into something practical, it’s Apple.
Of course, there’s a good chance the final product won’t be quite so radical. Apple often files patents that serve more as directional signposts than direct product plans. Still, even a partially curved all-glass design without cutouts would be a major visual leap forward.
Apple has always positioned the iPhone as more than just a device it’s a cultural symbol, a status icon, and a cornerstone of its ecosystem. So it makes perfect sense that the 20th anniversary iPhone won’t just be another iteration. It will be a moment. A statement. A reminder of what made the original iPhone so groundbreaking in the first place.
With two more iPhone cycles still ahead of us, the road to the anniversary edition is slowly taking shape. But for now, the vision is tantalizingly clear and Apple seems ready to turn the page on a new chapter in iPhone history.
