Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have arrived with improvements to performance, cameras, battery life and thermal management. Yet attention is already shifting to what could come next, with a series of early reports pointing to a much bigger redesign for Apple’s 20th-anniversary iPhone. MacRumors’s report by Tim Hardwick explains each point in detail.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9, bringing a faster A20 Pro chip, camera upgrades and improvements to battery life and thermal management. Visually, however, the new Pro models remain largely familiar, retaining a design closely related to the iPhone 17 Pro generation.
That makes this year’s upgrade decision slightly more complicated for anyone already using a recent iPhone.
While the iPhone 18 Pro offers tangible hardware improvements, early information about Apple’s next major flagship suggests the company could be preparing a more ambitious overhaul for 2027. The device is currently being referred to as the iPhone 20 in reports, with Apple expected to use the 20th anniversary of the iPhone for a commemorative generation and potentially skip the iPhone 19 name. That naming plan has not been confirmed by Apple.
More importantly, several of the technologies reportedly under consideration go well beyond a routine annual specification update.
A dramatically different iPhone design could be coming
One of the most striking possibilities is an all-glass appearance built around a quad-curved display.
The reported design would see the display glass curve away on all four sides, making the metal frame far less visible during normal use and creating a more borderless appearance. Apple is said to be working with Samsung on what has been described as an “equal-depth quad-curved” display.
If it reaches production, the change would give the anniversary model a noticeably different visual identity from the iPhone 18 Pro.
That distinction matters because Apple’s latest Pro generation is more evolutionary in appearance. Buyers who primarily want a visibly new iPhone rather than faster internal hardware may therefore find the reported 2027 direction more compelling.
A thinner and brighter OLED panel is reportedly being explored
Display technology could also receive a significant upgrade.
Apple is reportedly planning a thinner and brighter OLED panel using Samsung display technology known as Color Filter on Encapsulation, or COE.
The approach reduces the thickness of the display stack while allowing more light to pass through. In theory, that could increase brightness while also reducing power consumption.
For users, the significance would not simply be a brighter screen. A thinner display assembly could also play a role in how Apple approaches the overall construction of the anniversary model.
Apple may finally push Face ID beneath the screen
Another long-running iPhone design goal could resurface with the anniversary generation.
Apple is reportedly continuing to test technology that would move Face ID components underneath the display, potentially removing the visible Dynamic Island cutout from the front of the phone. Development of an under-display camera is also said to be underway.
There is an important caveat.
The technology is not guaranteed to be ready for a fall 2027 launch. The report specifically notes uncertainty around whether Apple can complete the work in time.
That makes this one of the more interesting, but also less certain, upgrades currently associated with the future device.
Apple could develop its own iPhone camera sensor
The camera system may undergo a deeper change than simply receiving another lens or processing upgrade.
Apple is said to be developing its own stacked image sensor, potentially replacing Sony sensors traditionally used in the iPhone. A working prototype has reportedly already been developed.
The sensor is said to use LOFIC technology, which would allow individual pixels to store different amounts of light and could potentially provide up to 20 stops of dynamic range.
It remains a reported development project rather than a confirmed iPhone 20 feature, but it points to Apple exploring greater control over another major part of the iPhone imaging system.
Physical buttons could give way to haptic controls
Apple is also reportedly testing solid-state replacements for several of the iPhone’s physical buttons.
The Side, Volume, Action and Camera Control buttons could eventually be integrated into the frame without physically moving when pressed. Haptic feedback would instead be used to preserve the sensation of pressing a button.
The idea has the potential to change how the edges of the iPhone are constructed, particularly if Apple pursues the more seamless glass-heavy design also being discussed.
A 2-nanometer A21-generation chip is expected
Performance will naturally remain part of the annual upgrade cycle.
The anniversary iPhones are expected to use a second-generation 2-nanometer processor. With the iPhone 18 Pro using the A20 Pro generation, the next flagship Pro models are expected to move to an A21 Pro chip.
The report does not provide confirmed performance figures, so any claims about specific speed, efficiency or benchmark gains would be premature.
What it does suggest is that Apple’s next flagship could combine a major external redesign with another processor transition rather than relying on appearance alone.
Silicon-anode batteries could offer more capacity without a bigger battery
Battery technology may be another important area to watch.
Apple is reportedly exploring the use of a silicon anode capable of storing more lithium ions per gram. The potential benefit is longer battery life without having to increase the physical size of the battery.
The iPhone 18 Pro generation already brings battery-life improvements, but a change in underlying battery chemistry would represent a different type of advancement if Apple ultimately adopts it.
Faster memory could target on-device AI workloads
Apple is also rumored to be evaluating vertically stacked DRAM.
The proposed mobile high-bandwidth memory technology could provide greater memory bandwidth and improve performance for AI processing carried out directly on the device.
Details remain limited, including whether the technology has progressed beyond evaluation.
Still, the inclusion of higher-bandwidth memory among Apple’s reported experiments suggests that future iPhones may increasingly be designed around workloads that require faster movement of data between processing and memory components.
The Pro models could become slightly larger
Screen sizes may change as part of the redesign.
The anniversary iPhone Pro models are reportedly being tested with 6.4-inch and 7-inch displays for the Pro and Pro Max respectively. That would represent a small increase from the 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch sizes associated with the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.
Those dimensions are prototypes rather than final specifications, so they could still change before launch.
Should iPhone buyers skip the iPhone 18 Pro?
There is no universal answer.
The iPhone 18 Pro is a current product with confirmed improvements including the A20 Pro chip, camera upgrades, better thermal management and improved battery life. The features being discussed for the anniversary iPhone, by contrast, remain early reports and development claims.
Even the original reporting cautions that Apple’s plans can change and that ambitious hardware features are sometimes delayed. Under-display Face ID is specifically highlighted as a technology that has repeatedly appeared in expectations without reaching a shipping iPhone.
That distinction is important for anyone making a purchase decision today.
Someone using an older iPhone and needing better performance, cameras or battery life now may find little reason to postpone an upgrade purely because of unconfirmed hardware.
But owners of relatively recent models who are primarily looking for a major change in design could have more incentive to wait.
Taken together, the reported quad-curved glass design, hidden Face ID hardware, new OLED technology, custom camera sensor, solid-state buttons, next-generation chip, silicon-anode battery, high-bandwidth memory and revised display sizes suggest Apple is at least exploring a considerably more ambitious iPhone generation for its 20th anniversary.
Also Read: Samsung, Duolingo Troll Apple Over iPhone Duo Launch in Viral X Exchange
