iPhone 19 or iPhone 20? Apple’s 2027 anniversary iPhone rumors, specs and release date

Will Apple skip iPhone 19 and launch iPhone 20?

The iPhone that launches in 2027 will mark twenty years since the first iPhone was announced. What will this 20th-anniversary iPhone be called? iPhone 20 is one reported possibility, while iPhone XX remains a speculative alternative.

In October 2025, research firm Omdia reportedly predicted that Apple would skip the iPhone 19 name and move directly to iPhone 20.

There is a precedent. For the iPhone’s tenth anniversary in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus alongside the iPhone X, skipping iPhone 9 entirely. The iPhone X brought an OLED display with no Home button, Face ID, and a then-record starting price of $999. It also supported wireless charging, which debuted on the iPhone 8 models that year.

Apple could take a similar approach in 2027, launching a standard iPhone 19 alongside a more expensive anniversary model called iPhone 20 – or another name entirely. The 2017 launch shows that Apple can depart from its numbering sequence, but neither the anniversary model’s name nor the possibility of an iPhone 19 launching alongside it is confirmed.

iPhone 19 or 20 release date: When will the 20th Anniversary iPhone launch?

• Likely release date: September 2027

There has been no hard information on the 20th Anniversary iPhone’s release date yet, but it is generally expected to launch in the typical time frame for iPhones: an announcement in September and an on-sale in late September or October 2027.

An August 2026 report from a financial analyst at Jefferies claimed that Apple had canceled the all-glass anniversary iPhone because of manufacturing difficulties and concerns about its financial viability. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman disputed that report, saying Apple was still planning a glass-centric redesign for 2027, albeit with changes to its construction.

How much will the 20th Anniversary iPhone cost?

• High starting price estimated at $1,299 or more

It’s too early to predict what the RAM crunch will do to next year’s prices, but we expect the 20th Anniversary iPhone to be expensive. With more advanced technology than most “Pro” iPhones, the starting price will likely be at least $1,299, if not more.

What will the 20th Anniversary iPhone look like?

• Two sizes with slightly larger displays rumored
• Edge-to-edge displays
• Curved glass design

One of the defining visual characteristics of the 20th Anniversary iPhone will reportedly be its all-display look. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed in May 2025 that Apple is planning an all-glass design. Leaks have described the handset as having “a quad-curved screen design,” with the idea being that the phone will appear to be one big display. Bezels could be minimized to the point where you don’t even see them, and the glass will curve down on all four sides. It’s been reported that Apple could adopt its Liquid Glass branding as well.

“Glass-centric” doesn’t necessarily mean an entirely glass enclosure. According to Gurman’s August 2026 report, Apple encountered difficulties joining the front and back glass panels when preparing the design for mass production. The revised approach reportedly uses a metal band to connect them, while retaining glass that curves around all four sides.

Reports also suggest that Apple is preparing two anniversary models with slightly larger displays than the current Pro iPhones. According to leaker Digital Chat Station in July 2026, Apple is testing a 6.41-inch display with a resolution of approximately 2,686 × 1,236 pixels and a 6.96-inch display with approximately 2,912 × 1,340 pixels. The larger model could be marketed as having a 7-inch screen, potentially making it the largest display on a conventional, non-folding iPhone.

Will the 20th Anniversary iPhone have a Dynamic Island?

• Under-display Face ID expected
• Hole-punch camera for selfie cam rumored

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

One of the persistent rumors over the past several years is that Apple will continue to put more front camera system components under the display, until it’s all display with no cutouts at all.

That may be several years away, but at least some of the components might be able to go behind the OLED display. One rumor claims that Apple will use a “spliced micro-transparent glass,” which will allow it to put the IR emitter under the display, leaving just the regular camera and maybe the IR receiving camera in a cutout region. If the IR camera can effectively go under the display as well, the 20th Anniversary iPhone will have just a single round punch-hole camera in front but retain Face ID.

The Digital Chat Station leak from July 2026 also indicated that Apple is testing a smaller Dynamic Island-style hole-punch design.

Analyst Ross Young suggested in a post on X back in January 2026 that a smaller Dynamic Island would remain through 2027. He believes Apple’s 2028 iPhone Pro models will feature a centered hole-punch cutout in the display.

What camera will the 20th Anniversary iPhone have?

• Custom LOFIC image sensor rumored
• Triple-camera array with telephoto lens

Stephan Wiesend

According to a Korean-language blog post by a leaker who goes by yeux1122 (who has been accurate in the past with some supply-chain scoops), Apple is working together with Sony on a custom image sensor that uses LOFIC (Lateral Integral Overflow Capacitor) technology.

Phone makers Honor, Xiaomi, and Huawei all use sensors with LOFIC technology in their flagship phones now. It’s a technique that allows sensors to capture low-light or dark areas of an image with less noise, along with brighter areas of an image, without increasing ISO sensitivity. In other words, it gives the camera more dynamic range with less noise.

Otherwise, we expect the 20th Anniversary iPhone to have a triple-camera system like the current Pro models, with wide, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras. It’s likely that the cameras will have significant upgrades, however, with a possible 200MP sensor.

Will the 20th Anniversary iPhone have physical buttons?

• Solid-state with haptics could replace physical buttons

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

On all current MacBooks (other than MacBook Neo), the trackpad doesn’t actually move. Instead, it produces the sensation of being clicked using precise haptic feedback. It’s very effective and reduces the possibility of breakage due to fewer moving parts.

The 20th Anniversary iPhone is supposed to replace the power, volume, Action, and Camera Control buttons with parts that operate in a similar way. These buttons wouldn’t move at all. Rather, they will be integrated into the frame itself, but will have touch capacitors and haptics to give them the feel of an actual button.

Weibo account Instant Digital (with a mixed track record) says extensive testing is ongoing to make sure these new solid-state haptic buttons work well with gloves, cases, wet hands, and so on.

If Apple can pull this off and they feel as good as real buttons, it will be an important part of the durability of the new iPhone. With the display glass curving down on all edges, the edge area of the frame itself will be very thin, and further cutouts to accommodate buttons would make it less likely to resist bending.

What specs will the 20th Anniversary iPhone 19 or 20 have?

• A next-generation A-series processor is expected
• A C3 modem has been rumored
• RAM capacity remains unconfirmed

The 20th-anniversary iPhone is expected to feature a successor to the iPhone 18 Pro’s A20 Pro processor, potentially called A21 Pro. Apple has not announced the chip or its specifications.

Reports have suggested that Apple’s C3 cellular modem could arrive in 2027. The C2 is already used in the iPhone 18 Pro worldwide and in the iPhone 18 Pro Max outside the U.S.; the U.S. Pro Max uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80. Whether C3 will appear in every anniversary model remains unconfirmed.

Apple’s N1 wireless chip supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. It is too early to say whether the anniversary iPhone will retain N1 or introduce a successor.

RAM capacity is also unknown. Based on the iPhone 18 Pro, we would expect at least 12GB, while 16GB is a possibility if future features require more memory. This is our assessment rather than a confirmed specification or a sourced claim of a RAM increase.

Will the 20th Anniversary iPhone have longer battery life?

• New battery technology

A report from ETNews in 2025 said that Apple is looking to use a battery with a pure silicon anode in the 20th Anniversary iPhone.

A silicon anode could increase energy density, allowing Apple to fit more battery capacity into the same space or use a smaller battery without sacrificing capacity. Some Android phones already demonstrate the potential of silicon-based batteries: the Oppo Find X9 Pro, for example, has a 7,500mAh silicon-carbon battery. That is different from the pure-silicon anode technology reportedly being considered for Apple’s anniversary iPhone. Apple’s battery capacity remains unknown, and any improvement in battery life would also depend on the display, processor, modem, and software.