A new report has revealed that part of the expected iOS 26 reveal at WWDC 2025 could be a major factor in the design of the rumored 20th Anniversary iPhone.
In his most recent Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed that Apple’s iOS 26 new interface design, known as “Liquid Glass,” will set the stage for Apple's future products. Liquid Glass is the name given to a set of new interface elements that have the “sheen and see-through visuals of a glassy surface.” According to Gurman, this will mean transparency and shine effects will be added to “all of Apple’s tool bars, in-app interfaces and controls.”
These new design elements be a part of the full range of Apple operating systems, which in turn will create a cohesive look across all of Apple's products. However, as Gurman goes on to state, this new design will also be used as the launchpad for the look of the upcoming 20th anniversary iPhone, apparently codenamed "Glasswing," expected in 2027. Not only will the device feature the design element according to Gurman, but it will have a curved-edge display which will “expand on the glass concept.”
Apple is reportedly working to give the iPhone 20 a fully edge-to-edge display, which means removing or minimizing display cutouts, like the Dynamic Island. This will be difficult to engineer, but Apple is reportedly planning on moving parts of the Dynamic Island under the display, like the front-facing camera and Face ID.
While this new OS design language will likely be one of the standout reveals of WWDC 2025 the event, there is more we expect to see at the event. For instance, while we can assume that the event will focus on the next generation of software updates, there is a fair amount of debate around how Apple Intelligence will be discussed. Some, like Mark Gurman, believe that Apple won’t mention its future AI plans for the event, while others hope that Apple offers news on the future of Siri 2.0, even if it means skirting around the issue of how many of these features have been delayed for almost a year.
For the time being, there’s still a lot we don’t know about Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone, including what the hardware will be. However, there will likely be more information about iOS 26 and Liquid Glass design later today. For all the news and reveals as we see them, keep an eye on our WWDC 2025 Live Blog, which we will be updating over the course of the event.
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