From iPhone 17 Air to iPhone 20: Apple's Redesign Timeline

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to completely change the design of the iPhone over the course of the next three years, leading to a radically different "iPhone 20" to celebrate the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027.

Here's what's coming.

2025

In 2025, Apple plans to debut the iPhone 17 Air, a much thinner version of the iPhone. Rumors suggest that it could be as thin as 5.5mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone to date.

Apple is prioritizing the new, slimmed down chassis over features, and there will be some compromises. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have a single-lens camera and lower battery life because Apple has to use a thinner battery. Still, it is an all-new design, and it helps Apple start the move to slimmer smartphones.

2026

The first foldable iPhone is coming in 2026, and that will be the biggest change to Apple's smartphone lineup in iPhone history. Over the weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared a few more details on the device, adding to what we already know.

Apple's 2026 flagship iPhone will fold like a book, featuring an outer display when closed and a larger interior display when open. Apple has been working to reduce the crease, so the foldable iPhone will look like a single piece of glass.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the foldable iPhone will have a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner display. When it's unfolded, it'll be even thinner than the iPhone 17 Air. It'll measure 4.5 to 4.8mm when open, and between 9 and 9.5mm when closed.

There will again be compromises, with Apple dropping Face ID and using Touch ID authentication instead. It will also be limited to a dual-lens rear camera, instead of a triple-lens setup, though there will be two front-facing cameras to make sure there's a selfie cam when it's open and when it's closed.

The foldable iPhone will be sold alongside more standard iPhone 18 models.

2027

For the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, Apple has big plans. You might think that the 20th anniversary iPhone will be a foldable device, but that's not the plan.

Apple is working on an iPhone with a wraparound display that curves around all of the edges, so there will be no bezels at all. It will look like a single piece of glass, with no squared edges and no cutouts at the front.

Apple is preparing for the all-glass iPhone with the 2025 and 2026 iPhones, and with the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26.

Which iPhone are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: From iPhone 17 Air to iPhone 20: Apple's Redesign Timeline

 

[Dmoney77]

Next upgrade for me is the 20th anniversary.

 

[frownface]

Air in 2025, that's pretty much a lock.
Fold in 2026, sure.

Wraparound phone in 2027, i don't believe that for a second. Curved screens have been done before and failed; a wrap around phone is very much a form over function device; and arguably the form isn't very good.

 

[jon9091]

Apple is working on an iPhone with a wraparound display that curves around all of the edges, so there will be no bezels at all. It will look like a single piece of glass, with no squared edges and no cutouts at the front.

So…”you’re holding it wrong…again”

 

[Klae17]

100% team foldable.

 

[Momento_Mori]

🤔🤔Wrap around screen 😂😂
💯 not going to happen

 

[jz0309]

well, so still a slab ...
and a foldable ...

smartphones are a very mature product, and while you can call this a "total redesign", it is a rectangular slab with a touchscreen to use the device. Been like this for 20 years now ...

 

[Chomp81]

Ok, I'll be back in 2027!

 

[kemal]

2027 all glass..... How will it work with a case? I call it a 'No!'

 

[kurtfoster]

Not on the list, but how about a trifold phone which looks like a normal iPhone until you open it up and then it’s almost the size of an iPad.

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

The 2027 rumors of the phone is definitively not happening. Apple love to be slow at things.

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

Don’t you people hate the idea of an outer display? I just don’t understand it. One of the reasons people wanted foldable phones was to finally have flip phones again to protect the screen!. Instead we got an outdoor display that we have to worry about too? Like what were they thinking?

 

[Student of Life]

Don’t you people hate the idea of an outer display? I just don’t understand it. One of the reasons people wanted foldable phones was to finally have flip phones again to protect the screen!. Instead we got an outdoor display that we have to worry about too? Like what were they thinking?

One can get a flip case if they want to protect the screen today. I prefer my cases that way. The goal, the allure of a foldable phone is the bigger real estate screen size.

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

One can get a flip case if they want to protect the screen today. I prefer my cases that way. The goal, the allure of a foldable phone is the bigger real estate screen size.

you see what you did there? You agreed with me while trying to debate me. “Is the bigger real state screen size”… except that has nothing to do with the outer display! Nobody asked for it.

 

[MichaelYYZ]

Absolutely NOT interested in flip/foldable phones.

 

[dustin_]

how is one supposed to protect a wrapped glass screen? this rumor is so stupid.

 

[alonsapir]

2026 & then 2028.

 

[JonneyGee]

Just give me chamfered edges again with an all-screen design (the front camera and Face ID embedded under the screen) and I’m happy. No need for this gimmicky wraparound or folding garbage.

 

[JohnC1959]

2027 all glass..... How will it work with a case? I call it a 'No!'

It could work fine with a case. Depends on what they do. I can't imagine they would have any active controls of any sort on the edges (too many problems from just holding the phone). I don't see things like videos, etc. using those edges because the curve would cause distortion. I CAN see the normal wallpaper wrapping since it might look cool and doesn't really mater if your hand blocks it or it's distorted on the edges. All that adds up to a case not getting in the way of anything that matters.

 

[SilmarilFinder]

Personally I waited for Watch S10, with all the rumours promising a complete new design, new functions and if we are lucky a new software that could help us more with our excercise. What we actually got was a slightly larger screen and, a new chip.

My hopes for AirPods Max were just as high as the competition marched on. I was almost certain Timmy would deliver something so “groundbreaking” it might actually tempt me from my beloved Sony XM5s. Instead, not even a token chip update. Truly couragous.

So I’ve no great hopes for iPhones after those let downs. We’ll get the usual: a marginally better camera, perhaps ever so slightly thinner bezels, and of course a new chip (still no Apple Intelligence).
As for the foldable iPhone, I am sure it will cost an arm and a leg, and a beautiful product but I have no desire for my phone payment direct debit to be higher than my car finance.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I still lean towards the so-called "wraparound screen" actually being a screen that has no black bezel around it, and which curves just slightly downward all the way to the forward edge of the metal band around the perimeter of the iPhone, at least at first. But if the first and subsequent iterations of this screen turn out to cover the perimeter of the iPhone itself, with no metal band, then it's likely it'll be used just to display more of your home screen/wallpaper image rather than "buttons", etc.

 

[ThomasJL]

If they end up looking like the iPhone 11, just like all the models released since the iPhone 11, with the only difference being it’s twice as wide and foldable, it won’t be surprising. Tim Cook likes to save as much money as possible on R&D by reusing the same design year after year in order to maximize profits for shareholders. He’s a useless bean counter who doesn’t care about products.

 

[Andres Cantu]

This year and next year are more additions to the lineup rather than redesigns. The 2027 iPhone, depending on how generous Apple feels, might even be an Ultra tier on top of the Pro. That would suck.

 

[JohnC1959]

This year and next year are more additions to the lineup rather than redesigns. The 2027 iPhone, depending on how generous Apple feels, might even be an Ultra tier on top of the Pro. That would suck.

I can see that happening. The wrap around screen will clearly cost more but will really just add a 'cool' factor and not functionality. So many might prefer not to spend the extra money for that cool factor. Then the real question is what other, more functional, features might the 'ultra' have that the pro doesn't

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just can't give us a parts bin Mini of any kind, 'eh?