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If all the rumors are to be believed, next year is going to be a phenomenal year for the iPhone. 2027 will mark 20 years since the release of the original iPhone, and a launch that changed the face of the smartphone industry forever. And it sounds like Apple is going to commemorate that anniversary with a brand new kind of iPhone — and one that's going to pull out all the stops.
So far, the only anniversary iPhone we've seen is the iPhone X from 2007. Along with a hefty price increase, the 10th anniversary iPhone offered a brand new form factor that became the basis for all flagship iPhones going forward. You got a full-screen OLED display, Face ID, a durable stainless steel frame and wireless charging.
It's expected that the iPhone 20 will be the next "major shake-up" in the non-folding iPhone lineup. This means it could follow the iPhone X's example and show the world what the next 10 years of iPhones may look like.
Judging from all the rumors, Apple is not likely to disappoint us in that regard. For better or worse, the iPhone 20 is going to have an impact — and these are the seven biggest rumors we've heard about so far.
Curved all-glass display
One of the most prominent rumors about the iPhone 20 is the addition of a unique all-glass design that looks unlike anything else Apple has offered before. Various rumors and patents suggest that the design will feature a "wraparound" effect, which sees the display glass extend around all four sides of the iPhone 20.
This has been described as a "truly edge-to-edge display" with no bezels or cutouts to speak of, and it sounds an awful lot like Samsung's original plans for the Edge display applied to all four sides of the phone. At least one rumor says that this wraparound effect will make the iPhone 20 look like it's only made from glass, with no visible metal framing between the curved front display and the flat glass panel on the back of the phone.
While I have concerns about durability, seeing as how curved glass is notoriously prone to damage, it sounds like the iPhone 20 is going to be a sight to see.
Solid-state buttons with haptic feedback
We've been hearing rumors about iPhones adopting solid-state buttons for a few years now, but we've never actually seen a true solid-state button come to a single Apple smartphone. Even Action Button and Camera Control, which were widely rumored to be solid-state buttons before their reveal, still rely on fragile mechanical parts to operate. iPhone 20 may finally bring solid state buttons into the spotlight.
So what's the benefit of solid-state buttons? From a design perspective, it means that the iPhone 20 may have smooth, uninterrupted sides that you can swipe your fingers up and down without protruding buttons getting in the way. The lack of any moving parts means that the buttons won't wear out the same way traditional buttons do. It's one less thing that can break, and means there's one less way Apple can charge you for repairs.
The solid-state buttons are also rumored to offer haptic feedback to make up for the fact that you lose the tactile feedback that comes with clicking a mechanical button. Like Camera Control, solid-state buttons should also be able to recognize pressure, which could open up a bunch of new control options in the process. Or, at the very least, avoid any accidental activation.
Under-display Face ID and selfie camera
You can't have an uninterrupted all-glass display if there's a notch or cutout at the top of your screen. Even something as small as the Dynamic Island would ruin the effect, and rumors keep insisting that Apple will adopt an under-display camera to make everything come together seamlessly. This change should also see all visible Face ID hardware pushed under the display as well; otherwise, there wouldn't be much point.
There have been rumors that Apple would push Face ID under the display for a while now, and it had been suggested the iPhone 18 Pro would be the phone to do it — leaving a single hole-punch camera at the top of the phone.
Sadly, rumors now suggest this won't happen, and it means under-display Face ID might have to wait until the release of iPhone 20. I just hope that Apple has figured out how to make an under-display camera that can do more than take mediocre photos.
Under-display speakers
This is an interesting one, because under-display speakers aren't really anything new. While a lot of phones still have a prominent speaker grill at the top of the phone, certain models have succeeded in hiding that particular eye-sore under the display. The Pixel 5 managed to do it back in 2020, even if more recent Pixel phones forgot that this was a thing that could be done.
So it makes perfect sense that Apple might utilize that kind of technology to produce the iPhone 20's wraparound glass display. The only question is, will Apple stop there, or will it also hide the bottom speakers below the screen? The bottom speaker grills are a lot larger and more prominent, so hiding them may be more of a challenge.
But if Apple is really going for those curved glass edges, then it could well happen, and it might not be that difficult to pull off effectively.
Reverse wireless charging
To date, Apple hasn't released a single iPhone that supports reverse wireless charging. It's not always been clear why it would ignore a feature that so many other phones had adopted, but leaker Instant Digital claims that it will finally make its debut on iPhone 20.
It's worth mentioning at this stage that Google actually pulled reverse wireless charging out of the Pixel 10 last year. It claimed that they had a choice to make, and the phone could either support reverse wireless charging, or they could add Qi2 wireless charging magnets — which are similar to the magnets Apple uses in MagSafe.
It was never clear whether the two were incompatible for technical reasons or if Google needed to pull reverse wireless charging hardware to make way for the magnetic ring. Either way, we've never seen a phone that can offer both, and that could mean another first for the iPhone 20. And that could mean the ability to recharge your AirPods without a dedicated charging pad.
"Ceramic Shield Ultra" scratch-resistant display
This is another rumor from Instant Digital, but it's no huge surprise that Apple would offer even tougher display glass with the iPhone 20. That wraparound glass display would need as much help as it can get, especially on the curved edges, and it's unlikely that Ceramic Shield 2 would be up to the challenge.
I've seen first-hand how fragile curved phone displays can be, and considering Ceramic Shield has a reputation for being the toughest display glass around, the pressure is on for Apple to get it right.
Instant Digital has dubbed this tougher kind of glass "Ceramic Shield Ultra," though they freely admit that the name has been made up. However, they did add that the glass is supposed to be so strong that you could keep the phone in your pocket with a set of keys "for months" without causing damage.
A 6,000 mAh battery
iPhone batteries aren't normally as large as they are on Android flagships, despite the fact that iPhones have a reputation for offering some of the best phone battery life. It's all because Apple controls every facet of the iPhone hardware and software, and has been able to optimize the experience to run with far fewer resources than Android phones can dream.
So the fact Instant Digital claims there will be a 6,000 mAh battery in the iPhone 20 has caught my attention. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the first iPhone to offer a battery with more than 5,000 mAh of power, which translates into 17 hours and 54 minutes of battery life in our testing.
Can you imagine how much extra battery life you could get with a battery that's 20% larger than that? Even if the wraparound display requires slightly more power than a flat iPhone screen, adding an extra 1,000 mAh of power would be amazing. So I'm definitely interested in seeing how long the iPhone 20 will be able to last on a single charge.
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