While the iPhone 17's drastic redesign may be on the forefront of a lot of people's minds, I can't help but think about what's coming in the future. No, not the iPhone 18, but the one that's coming after that — the 20th anniversary phone reportedly due in 2027.
That release may be more than two years out, but we've already been hearing a lot of rumors about what this phone could look like. And if those rumors are correct, we could be looking at the first full-screen iPhone Apple has ever made. That's an exciting prospect, especially since full-screen phones didn't get a fair shot the first time round.
But I can't help but be concerned about some of the other design changes that are supposedly on the way with the 20th anniversary iPhone. And it's making me wonder whether Apple's going to make a habit of questionable redesigns.
Under display cameras haven't proven their worth
One of the biggest rumors is that Apple will be offering a full-screen display with the iPhone 20. A proper one, with no interruptions to speak of — no notches, no cutouts. The phone would feature just pure screen with all the important stuff hiding away under the surface, including the front camera.
The idea of an under-display camera is not new. Several phones already shipping have included the hidden lens under their screens — most notably, the Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 through the more recent Galaxy Z Fold 6. The problem is that those lenses haven't really proven their worth.
In fact, he Galaxy Z Fold series is a great example of that, with each subsequent generation coming with the exact same hidden camera hardware. And to be honest, the quality of the images from the Z Fold 3 wasn't really that impressive to begin with.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has switched back to a classic hole-punch camera, which gives us a much better point of comparison. It's unclear why Samsung switched back, so we don't know whether photo quality was a factor, but our preliminary camera testing shows that the Z Fold 7 does seem to take better selfies than the Z Fold 6's under-display camera.
The prospect of Apple (or any other company, for that matter) opting for an under-display lens as the main selfie camera has me concerned. As we've seen, those shooters aren't quite at the same level as hole-punch cameras, and while Galaxy Z Fold owners had plenty of other options thanks to a flexible format, phones that don't fold can't offer the same versatility with what camera you use.
You can't opt for the alternate selfie camera because it doesn't exist. Nor can you use the rear cameras, because you don't have the viewfinder to align everything in frame.
Admittedly, Apple isn't the kind of company to switch to sub-par hardware on a whim. The company was rumored to have delayed production on its foldable iPhone for a long time, because it was set on not having a visible crease across the phone's main display. Which suggests that any hypothetical under-display camera featured on a iPhone will be of sufficient quality to meet its own infamously high standards.
Still, I'll be less concerned when I see it happen. As much as I'd love to see an uninterrupted full-screen display, I'll have to be markedly skeptical about the whole thing.
Are those... curved displays?
One of the other big rumors we've heard is that the 20th anniversary iPhone may be a "mostly glass curved iPhone." Another rumor claims that this will involve a "four-edge bending technology." And, oh boy, I really hope those two rumors do not interact. Because otherwise it means Apple resurrected the curved screen phone.
A lot of that concern comes from the concept of "quad curved" phone displays, which are particularly common with Chinese flagships — the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the OnePlus 13 and Motorola Edge 60 to name a few. Hearing a phrase like "four-edge bending" sounds an awful lot like Apple's pulling its own spin on the same thing.
Throw in the rumor that this will supposedly help hide the bezels, which is one of the most common defenses of curved phone screens, and it really has my hair standing on edge.
I will not beat around the bush: I despise curbed phone screens, and have for several years now. Not only does the curve make tapping the edges of your screen much harder, the curve itself is a notable weak point in the glass.
To make matters worse it's so much harder to apply a screen protector and make up for that loss of strength. Needless to say I celebrated when Samsung finally gave up on curved displays, and the last thing I want is for Apple to kickstart the whole stupid trend again.
As much as phone companies may try and deny it, what Apple does influences how others design their own phones. Whether it's making Android look more like iOS or just blatantly copying features and colors, if Apple does something, you can be sure that at least some of its rivals will do the exact same thing in a year or two. I don't think I can bring myself to have to go through that again with a curved display revival.
I'd like to think Apple knows what it's doing, and won't offer such a horrible design to the 20th anniversary iPhones. But considering the questionable look supposedly coming to the iPhone 17 Pro — that full-width camera bar rumored for the phone doesn't look so good to me — I'm not sure I can put much faith in the design going forward.
Bottom line
We are still extremely early in the iPhone 20's rumor cycle. The phone isn't expected to arrive until 2027, to mark the iPhone's 20th birthday, and that means a lot can and probably will change between now and then.
Perhaps Apple discovers that some of its loftier plans aren't going to work the way it had hoped in the ensuing years. Or maybe the company realizes that some of these preliminary decisions are just kinda dumb.
But if what we've heard so far is true, and Apple continues with it as planned? My hope is that the company figures out how to do it all properly — namely, under-display selfie cameras that can take high quality photos and video, and an all-glass screen that doesn't inadvertently resurrect the worst display trend since everyone tried to make 3D TVs a thing.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
