That 2027 iPhone is a must have!📱 bank 🏦 it! 😉 Forget the foldable iPhone.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
From iPhone 17 Air to iPhone 20: Apple's Redesign Timeline
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If the anniversary iPhone is supposed to be made entirely of glass (which it won't be anyway), then I wonder why Apple is now using aluminum instead of glass on the 17 Pro and Pro Max, and only a small glass panel on the back? This all makes absolutely no sense! If Apple is really so committed to glass, why doesn't it keep the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in their usual look, i.e., the entire back made of glass? Moreover, an iPhone that's supposed to be made entirely of glass makes absolutely no sense. How are you supposed to repair it, and especially protect it from damage caused by drops? Use thick tempered glass?
I also find it interesting that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are mostly made of aluminum because it dissipates heat better. Strange, then how do you dissipate heat on the anniversary iPhone? So it suddenly works with glass? It's all extremely strange!
I also find it interesting that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are mostly made of aluminum because it dissipates heat better. Strange, then how do you dissipate heat on the anniversary iPhone? So it suddenly works with glass? It's all extremely strange!
Practicality and cost vs premium and cool. Different phones for different people. And there's likely aluminum under the glass.
That wraparound phone looks like it will shatter instantly if dropped.
Still thinking that the 17 air is 1/2 of the folding iPhone 
📱 📱
📱 📱
The best phone Apple ever made was the iPhone 3GS. You could reach the whole screen without effort, and the rounded back made it sit perfectly in your hand. It was such a powerful thing. Then came the iPhone 4, which killed the rounded edges, and the iPhone 5 stretched the screen just enough to throw off the balance. It felt less like progress and more like Apple reacting to bloated Android phones, which went big mostly to cover up their awful battery life. My guess to this day is that Apple pulled off the change so quickly because the all-screen future was already in the works. The extra row of icons, traded for the physical home button, had been baked into Apple’s roadmap all along.
Yes, phones are faster and packed with more tech now, but the ergonomics are frankly sh*t. They’re heavy, clumsy, and horribly unbalanced. And the endless stream of software band-aids Apple has added just to make giant screens usable says it all. The trade-off is real.
Still, from time to time, I pick up my old iPhone 3GS as a throwback to the greatest consumer product ever made.
Yes, phones are faster and packed with more tech now, but the ergonomics are frankly sh*t. They’re heavy, clumsy, and horribly unbalanced. And the endless stream of software band-aids Apple has added just to make giant screens usable says it all. The trade-off is real.
Still, from time to time, I pick up my old iPhone 3GS as a throwback to the greatest consumer product ever made.
I hated the 3G (well at least once the 4 came out). I could never see the screen in the sun and the plastic parts of the phone scuffed too easily. I do use two hands now most of the time but that's such a very very tiny sacrifice for what it gives me. The 4 was the first iPhone I thought was good enough that I didn't feel compelled to upgrade to the iPhone 5 -- I waited for the six. Different strokes for different folks.
Last edited:
Excuse me, it comes out next year, that’s one year away from release, not 2 years away from production.
All this says to me is not to buy an iPhone in the next 3-4 years lol.
Not interested in the Air. Folding phone could be good BUT it’s gonna be a lot more expensive and unless Apple has found a way to bend glass or stop the screen scratching so easily like other folding phones then it’s a no for me. Also, i dont buy major new designs. I’ll wait for the revised design the year after before buying it.
curved glass could be interesting but again it’s a major new design.
Not interested in the Air. Folding phone could be good BUT it’s gonna be a lot more expensive and unless Apple has found a way to bend glass or stop the screen scratching so easily like other folding phones then it’s a no for me. Also, i dont buy major new designs. I’ll wait for the revised design the year after before buying it.
curved glass could be interesting but again it’s a major new design.
If I’m not mistaken, the iPhone 3GS screen went from 300 nits to 400 nits in brightness. I never had any trouble using the 3GS in the sun.
My 3GS has no scuffs worth noticing. I have a broken glass on the back of my iPhone SE, though.
Last edited:
I definitely don't want a smartphone without an external display. I would need to open my iPhone just to look at the time or if I received notifications. Removing the possibility to get information at a glance would be a very annoying experience after years of being used to it.
Firstly, you’re phrasing the 2026 and 2027 plans, like it is confirmed. If so, as per ToS, sight your credible release announcements by Apple.
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
Secondly, you say 2026 will be foldable iPhones. Then 2027, no more foldable iPhones. I want to see that! They invest millions in RnD to foldable phones, only to discontinue them a year later. Once again this is all stated in complete certainty by you.
Please link all Apple release sources about your claims, as required by Macrumors ToS😊
Maybe some people want a foldable "to finally have flip phones again to protect the screen," but I certainly never remotely wanted such thing; certainly not since circa 2005. I use iPhone Pros hard and caseless, and have never needed "to protect the screen." IMO screen protection on modern iPhone Pros just services some folks OCD or whatever.
So no, I do not "hate the idea of an outer display." In fact it is essential for me. IMO picking up the phone and seeing what is going on, or seeing what is going on with it flat on a desktop is huge value add. The idea of going back 20 years and needing to open the phone to do anything would be huge value loss.
To me [obviously YMMV] the value in a foldable would be having an iPhone and a tablet in the same pocketable device. Whether or not I buy one will depend on the actual released device, not on rumors.
Last edited:
I use iPhone Pros hard and have not needed a case for years. Case design is an issue just for the case designers and the people who choose to kludge up their beautiful $1k iPhones with tacky $50 cases, certainly not some kind of phone prerequisite.
Get your graduate degree in material science then you can evaluate the material science decisions Apple engineers make every year. Hint: it is hella complex ;~)
I’ll at least consider upgrading when they decide to offer a model with a reasonably-sized display again.
I’ve lost interest because of Liquid Ass.
Option 1. Don’t drop it.
Option 2. Use a case that covers the sides.
Option 3. Insurance.
100%! Apple could be pushing tech way faster than they are but that doesn't benefit their bottom line. By stretching changes out they can milk customers every year for increments.
I’m getting the 17 Pro and in two years when I plan to upgrade again, it will either be the second gen folding iPhone or if I don’t feel like spending close to 3K, the iPhone 20 Pro (if Apple skips 19 similar to how they skipped 9).
The iPhone I am looking forward to is whatever iPhone happens to be the smallest when I need a new phone.
