Apple (AAPL) might be gearing up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iPhone with something far more dramatic than another annual camera upgrade.
A new rumor suggests Apple’s 2027 flagship phones could feature the largest displays ever used on an iPhone Pro, alongside a nearly all-glass exterior that curves around the device, CNET reported.
The rumored redesign would arrive two decades after the original iPhone launched in 2007.
According to information shared by Chinese tech leaker Digital Chat Station and reported by CNET, the expected iPhone 20 Pro could carry a 6.41-inch screen, while the Pro Max could reach 6.96 inches.
For comparison, the current iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max measure 6.27 inches and 6.86 inches, respectively.
But the screen size may only be part of the story. The same report points to a design that could make the phone appear almost bezel-free.
That would give Apple something increasingly hard to manufacture in the mature smartphone market: a device that looks immediately different from the iPhone already in consumers’ pockets.
And that difference could cost you money.
Apple could use a bigger screen to push the iPhone further upmarket
Larger displays seem to provide a consumer benefit.
They give you extra space for video, games, photos, and working on the go, but they can also be “an excuse for companies to charge you more,” said CNET Senior Reporter Abrar Al-Heeti.
That observation is all the more apt, given the timing.
The iPhone will turn 20 in 2027, and CNET pointed out that the company could take advantage of the commemorative quality of the device and the rumored redesign to justify higher prices.
There is no word yet from Apple on an expected price for the iPhone 20 Pro or Pro Max, nor has the company confirmed that it has decided to raise prices.
But the rumored hardware would give the company a much stronger differentiation story than another incremental update.
The iPhone 20 Pro will likely feature a screen between 6.27 inches and 6.41 inches. The Pro Max would increase from 6.86 inches to 6.96 inches.
These changes aren’t huge in themselves. Still, the difference may be more meaningful in terms of the display.
Apple’s rumored all-glass iPhone could look unlike anything it sells today
Digital Chat Station is said to have corroborated an August report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple is working on a design that would be “almost all glass,” according to Kursiv Uzbekistan.
It is reportedly a quad-curved design where the glass curves around all four sides of the device.
As CNET summarized from Gurman’s earlier reporting, the front and rear glass would curve into the sides of the phone, with a metal band running through the middle.
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That would be a major shift from the current iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which use aluminum and ceramic glass.
The rumored iPhone 20 Pro models might also ditch one of the most visible disruptions on the current iPhone display. Digital Chat Station said Apple could shrink the Dynamic Island and use a much smaller punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera, according to Sammy Fans.
The Dynamic Island is currently located in the pill-shaped area near the top of the screen, expanding to display notifications, system information, and background activity.
A smaller version combined with curved glass and thinner-looking bezels could help Apple create the illusion of an edge-to-edge display.
That visual effect could be particularly important if Apple wants the anniversary iPhone to feel like a major departure from the models immediately before it.
But for consumers, more glass may bring up another question. If consumers see a design change as an unhelpful reason to replace their iPhone, then a visually striking device is irrelevant.
Apple is already experimenting with radically different iPhone designs
The rumored iPhone 20 won’t be the only product released.
CNET said the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone, will hit stores Oct. 23 and features a 7.6-inch internal display when unfolded.
With the Duo, Apple is beginning to play with iPhone designs that depart from the traditional smartphone slab.
The iPhone 20 Pro, meanwhile, takes a different direction. Instead of using a folding screen, Apple is trying to make a regular iPhone feel much more immersive with curved glass, smaller bezels, and larger displays.
That could help Apple cater to two types of premium customers.
One might pay a premium for the novelty and flexibility of a foldable. The other could prefer the familiar iPhone shape, but still want a device that looks quite different from previous generations.
The timing highlights a bigger change in Apple’s approach to hardware.
After years of fairly familiar iPhone silhouettes, the company could be aiming for much more physical differentiation at the high end.
Apple could use the iPhone’s 20th birthday to raise the stakes.
Apple’s anniversary iPhone could test how much design still matters
The iPhone 20 Pro and Pro Max are expected to launch in September 2027, according to CNET.
Apple is also expected to skip the iPhone 19 branding and go straight to iPhone 20 to celebrate 20 years since the first iPhone, although the company has not confirmed this.
The smartphone market has become so mature that many of the year-to-year changes are incremental. A slightly faster processor or improved camera can make a device objectively better without it looking different enough to warrant a customer upgrade.
A near all-glass design could change that. So could bigger screens.
The commercial potential is straightforward: If customers can easily tell the difference between it and an older iPhone, Apple can more easily position the product as a premium upgrade.
Even CNET’s Al-Heeti mentioned that possibility, saying Apple could use the all-glass redesign and larger screen as a reason to charge more.
Apple’s next premium iPhone may be selling a feeling as much as a feature
The 6.96-inch display described by MacRumors is larger than 6.86 inches.
A smaller Dynamic Island creates a little more usable screen.
Curved glass can make the phone appear thinner and more seamless.
None of those changes individually would necessarily change how an iPhone works. But they could alter the feel of the device. That counts in a premium hardware business.
Consumers don’t always buy up because a product performs better. Sometimes they pay more because it feels newer, rarer, or more luxurious. Apple’s 20th anniversary is a natural time to tap into that psychology.
If the rumors of Apple’s iPhone 20 design are accurate, it might be one of the smartphone maker’s clearest attempts in years to change the physical identity of its flagship phone.
And that could give the company something especially valuable: a new reason to ask consumers to pay more for a device they already understand.
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