With over a year remaining until the iPhone series celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2027, reports about the so-called "all-glass iPhone" 鈥?potentially the iPhone 20 鈥?have taken a notable turn. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares could see renewed interest amid these evolving design plans.

Earlier, analyst Edison Lee, based on supply chain surveys, suggested that Apple's original plan for an "all-glass iPhone" launching in 2027 might be scrapped due to low production yields. If the device ever reached the market, its average selling price could reach approximately $2,060 (roughly 鈧?3,895), making it one of the most expensive iPhones in Apple's history. However, shortly after this news, a report from Bloomberg offered a completely different perspective: the glass-centric iPhone for 2027 is still in development and has not been canceled. So, which report is incorrect?

In reality, the two pieces of information may not be contradictory. What was canceled might not be the "all-glass iPhone" itself, but rather a more radical version of it. Current leaks indicate that Apple is indeed developing a major redesign for the 20th anniversary, internally referred to with names like "Glasswing." The core concept is to make glass a central part of the entire device design language, evolving beyond the traditional "screen plus back panel" approach. The phone will still require internal components like a motherboard, battery, camera, and structural parts, and the metal frame will not completely disappear. The real change is that Apple will minimize the visual presence of the traditional metal frame, making the device appear more like a "single block of glass." This explains why the analyst's talk of "cancellation" and Bloomberg's claims of "continuation" can both be true: Apple may have indeed canceled the most aggressive all-glass plan but retained a redesigned, more mass-producible glass-centric version.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's design team initially attempted to use even more glass across the entire device but encountered difficulties with glass panel connections and mass production. Consequently, this more radical version was abandoned early. So, rather than the "all-glass iPhone 20" being "killed," it has undergone a design downgrade. Why is Apple so fixated on glass? This is directly related to Apple's recent software design direction. In iOS 26, Apple introduced the "Liquid Glass" design language, which heavily features transparent, refractive, layered, and glass-like textures throughout the system interface. If 2027 coincides with the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, making the hardware a visual carrier for "Liquid Glass" aligns perfectly with Apple's product logic. Over the past few years, iPhone software and hardware designs have been gradually converging towards a "borderless" ideal. Starting with the iPhone X, the Home button disappeared, and full-screen displays became mainstream; the notch evolved into the Dynamic Island; and the camera area has become progressively flatter. If the iPhone 20, as rumored, adopts a substantial glass material, it would create a unified visual language where the software's Liquid Glass meets the hardware's glass body.

There is still considerable time before the fall 2027 launch, and all current information comes from supply chain sources, analyst predictions, and media leaks; Apple has never officially confirmed anything. However, a supply chain leak from July suggests that Apple's production facilities have already been modified for the iPhone 20's glass design and are preparing for the subsequent manufacturing phase. The 2027 iPhone could be the biggest design change since the iPhone X, potentially becoming a new template for iPhone design in the years to come.

Exploring the iPhone 20: A New Decade for the iPhone

The 2017 iPhone X was the 10th-anniversary product, eliminating the Home button, introducing Face ID and a full-screen display, and subsequently shaping the design language of the iPhone for nearly a decade. Now, as 2027 approaches, Apple is once again facing a 20th anniversary. Based on current leaks, it is clear that Apple wants to create another "design watershed" similar to the iPhone X. However, the challenge this time is significantly higher. To make the phone's design more distinctive, the iPhone 20 opts for a "glass-centric" design, but it must simultaneously ensure strength, heat dissipation, antenna performance, repairability, and mass production. This will require considerable effort from Apple. Whether the final product will be called the iPhone 19, iPhone 20, or receive a special name like the iPhone X remains uncertain. Given that Apple once skipped the iPhone 9 to launch the iPhone X directly, it is entirely possible that in 2027, it will skip the iPhone 19 and adopt a name like "iPhone 20" or a similar 20th-anniversary designation. Would you consider purchasing Apple's latest "decade-defining" device for its new design? Feel free to discuss.