Forget the iPhone 17 Pro design, the 20th anniversary iPhone could be the boldest yet

By Britta O'Boyle Published April 7, 2025

Leaked render of iPhone 17 Pro Max rear panel. — Wylsacom / YouTube

There are always plenty of rumours surrounding the next iPhone, with some even appearing over a year before the model in question is due to be announced. For this year it is the iPhone 17 series that is expected to be announced in September, with several reports claiming there will be a design change for the Pro models coming, as well as the arrival of the super slim iPhone 17 Air.

But the latest report we are talking about here isn’t about this year’s iPhone, or even next year’s. It’s for the 20th anniversary iPhone model, that is set to arrive in 2027, alongside a potential folding iPhone. According to Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, picked up by Macrumors, the iPhone Pro that launches alongside the folding iPhone will feature a “bold” design that makes more extensive use of glass.

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Of course, we are a couple of years off that currently, but the idea of Apple shaking up the iPhone’s design for the 20th anniversary model isn’t unreasonable. For the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, the company introduced the iPhone X, that ditched the Touch ID home button and made the shift to Face ID with the notch at the top of the display.

What could the 2027 iPhone Pro offer?

It’s possible that the 2027 iPhone Pro could also make a big shift in design as the iPhone X did in 2017, but keep a more traditional design with the standard iPhone. Former design chief Jony Ive previously envisioned the iPhone as a single pane of glass, though whether that will ever become a reality remains to be seen.

With a few years until the 20th anniversary, Apple does have some time to play with for the “bold” design that Gurman suggests. The iPhone 17 series is expected to be announced towards the end of this year, while 2026 will likely see the launch of the iPhone 18 series. If Apple sticks to the same naming strategy, the 20th anniversary model would then be the iPhone 19 series, but that could all change of course, especially as surely iPhone 20 makes more sense to mark the 20th anniversary?

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Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer…

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