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

[LenardG]

None of these for me. Not in a million years.

Air? Less battery, less cameras, good luck on durability. Pass.

Foldable? Reduce the crease to make itt more glass like? The foldable surface will never be glass, something softer, plasticky. Again, less cameras, and the crazy thinness … we will see about battery life, but I avoid foldable phones at all costs. Noving parts you cannot make as durable as non moving.

Wraparound? I have seen these edge phones in Android, and I see no purpose. You will watch your movie on the side? Or the side lights up based on content? What can I say … Also, a full glass phone without a case, again, good luck with that.

I will take my regular Pro/ProMax thank you.

 

[coasterider]

A true 20th anniversary product would be a reengineered original iPhone. Same form factor (maybe minus the home button replaced with screen) with the best processor, camera, and screen.

Or just give us another mini please.

 

[subjonas]

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.

I agree with most of this except I appreciated the iPhone 4 flat edges. The 3GS felt better to hold, but the 4's flat edges made it more secure to hold. The flat edges made the phone more difficult to torque and slip out of the hand. You could also stand it on its side or bottom to take a picture etc. but that's a minor advantage.

 

[User 6502]

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.

Wraparound phone is form over function and ‘air’ phone is not? It will have a ridiculous battery life unless paired with a dedicated battery case which would make it bulkier than a normal iPhone, and will have all sort of compromises above all single camera which on that price band is unheard of these days. That’s more deserving of the ‘form over function’ comment than any wrap around phone would ever be.

 

[frownface]

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

By buying applecare+
I'm also going to go out on a limb and say applecare+ on that phone is gonna be skyhigh because they totally expect lots of broken ones.

 

[Srom89]

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

What are the odds that Apple still won’t offer multitasking even on the folding iPhone? 🤦‍♂️

 

[Lwii2boo]

Macrumors take for 2027 has exactly 0% chance of happening. No offense intended looks like this article is written by a kid or a bad LLM.
I am about to go elsewhere due to lack of quality content. It’s more clickbait than journalism

 

[gegy]

Absolutely NOT interested in flip/foldable phones.

In my opinion: This will be a shelf warmer

 

[Marty80]

After the iphone 17 pro max, the only phone that vaguely interests me is the anniversary model. But an all screen iPhone is my dream phone.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

Next upgrade for me is the 20th anniversary.

Me too, I am holding to my 14 until that. Either a second gen foldable or the 20 for me (and I’m liking th e 20’s desing more and more each time, if rumors are true)

 

[contacos]

Wrap around display? didn't Samsung already try this in like 2011 and no one liked it even back then?

 

[freezelighter]

By the end of the 2020s, handheld devices will be obsolete as the primary interface. Presenting physical handheld smartphone hardware in 2027 as innovation is not progress, it is regression.

The trajectory is unambiguous: the next transitional step will be ultra-thin pseudo-glasses — lighter, smaller, and more seamless than any conventional eyewear. These will serve only as a temporary bridge from 2029-2039.

The true breakthrough lies around 2040: the ocular matrix. An interface directly integrated onto the corneal surface, projecting AR/VR/AI overlays and enabling neuro-activation. Every photon entering the eye will be captured, analyzed, enhanced, and transmitted into the brain in real time.

This is not speculation, it is the inevitable direction of human–machine convergence. Neuralink is advancing invasive brain–computer interfaces, Inbrain Neuroelectronics is developing graphene-based neural stimulation, and Mojo Vision has demonstrated functional AR contact lenses. Electronic tattoo research shows how ultra-thin circuits can integrate with living tissue. Each of these technologies is a verified milestone on the way to the ocular matrix. The path is set, and anything less is stagnation.

 

[svish]

Looking forward to seeing the foldable and of course the 20th anniversary edition. Will be great if Apple can have the FaceID and the front facing camera under the screen by then. Waiting to hear more rumors about these two devices!!

 

[stevensocal]

I am waiting for the 20th year phone .. Wrap around screen sounds awesome.. Hope apple really does it right.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

I’m seriously considering leaving the endless camera race with my next iPhone purchase. The raised area around the lenses is just too annoying to put in and get out of my pocket. Fair enough: they are good pictures but I don’t do anything with them. They just sit in the camera roll and every now and then I show a picture to someone.

Had a look at the 16e and the simplicity of that lens is so good. My current iPhone sits in a leather case from Apple which adds even more bulk but the 16e or similar would be perfect for a 3rd party bumper.

They are very affordable as well.

 

[MRrainer]

I'm looking forward to an iPhone without bumps that lays flat on an even surface.

Maybe the single camera iPhone Air might be a contender.

I doubt my XR makes it to 2027 - and there are no updates for it after iOS 18...

No, I don't use a case.

 

[thiscatisfat]

Phablets every year. Great.

I guess I have to get a freaking folding phablet to get something phone sized.

I wish they made another “iPhone” iPhone.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

To me features like cameras battery life and so on are much more important than the design

 

[Kylo83]

Just remove the front notch and cut outs

 

[Marshall73]

Nah, can't see Apple making any great strides forward with design now that they just answer to investors. Just see bigger share buybacks and dividends to keep the share price up.

 

[Alexander_im]

Well, I’m confused. Didn’t Ross (or Gurman?) report that wraparound screen is still years away? I mean, we’ve been hearing about that wraparound screen for some time and then just a couple of months ago it was “reportedly delayed”? Am I missing something?

 

[berrymetal]

IF this is true, then I most probably will upgrade to 17 pro from my 15 pro. and then upgrade to the 20th iPhone. I will aim for that one, not the foldable.

 

[Calle68]

Let's wait for Scotty to program the transparent aluminum during Star Trek's visit to Earth.

 

[Ctrlos]

By the end of the 2020s, handheld devices will be obsolete as the primary interface. Presenting physical handheld smartphone hardware in 2027 as innovation is not progress, it is regression.

The trajectory is unambiguous: the next transitional step will be ultra-thin pseudo-glasses — lighter, smaller, and more seamless than any conventional eyewear. These will serve only as a temporary bridge from 2029-2039.

The true breakthrough lies around 2040: the ocular matrix. An interface directly integrated onto the corneal surface, projecting AR/VR/AI overlays and enabling neuro-activation. Every photon entering the eye will be captured, analyzed, enhanced, and transmitted into the brain in real time.

This is not speculation, it is the inevitable direction of human–machine convergence. Neuralink is advancing invasive brain–computer interfaces, Inbrain Neuroelectronics is developing graphene-based neural stimulation, and Mojo Vision has demonstrated functional AR contact lenses. Electronic tattoo research shows how ultra-thin circuits can integrate with living tissue. Each of these technologies is a verified milestone on the way to the ocular matrix. The path is set, and anything less is stagnation.

I don’t think the creators of Cyberpunk intended it to be something to reach for. Zuckerberg made the same exact mistake when he watched Ready Player One.

The Borg in Star Trek were supposed to be an allegory for the march of technology.

 

[Ctrlos]

2025? Looks like a nice redesign. The bar solves wobbly table syndrome and I really hope they put in the telephoto lens from the Xperia. The Air looks minimal AF and will likely impress once it’s in people’s hands at the Apple Store.

2026? Foldable phones will be massive. People say they’re wary of the durability of plastic displays but forget the hardiest piece of portable electronics ever created is the Gameboy and that wasn’t built with fragile glass. If Google can put IP68 on the Fold 10 then Apple will already be on it.

2027? My favourite Android phone of all time is the Galaxy S8. I really liked the wraparound display and was impressed by the same aesthetic on the Huawei P40 Pro. A change doesn’t always have to be practical; sometimes it’s nice to have cool ****.