Apple is still planning a glass-centric overhaul of the iPhone for the device’s 20th anniversary next year, Bloomberg reports, countering a Jefferies analyst’s claim that the project was cancelled.
For a phone that does not exist yet, the anniversary iPhone has had a busy week. Edison Lee of Jefferies said on Monday that the all-glass design was dead, citing supply-chain checks, and downgraded Apple to “Underperform” — shares fell 2.1%. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, citing people familiar with the matter, now says the roadmap has not changed.
The surviving design is glass front and back, curving into the sides with a metal band in the middle, on the iPhone Pro models known internally as V73 and V74. What was scrapped, per Bloomberg, is the design studio’s more aspirational version — a phone with even more glass and less metal. It did not survive contact with mass production: Apple struggled to join the glass panels together at volume.
Lee had estimated the anniversary device would carry a blended retail price of around $2,060, higher than any previous iPhone — a number that makes the cancellation rumour easy to believe. He also cut his Apple price target to $263.66 from $285.56.
Apple typically finalises new iPhone designs about a year before their autumn debut, so the 2027 plans are already in advanced testing and mostly locked in. The company’s biggest moneymaker — roughly half of revenue, with sales up 22% last quarter — needs a splash. The anniversary phone is it.
Before that, next month brings the foldable iPhone — the biggest single change in the product’s look to date — alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max with major camera upgrades and a new dark red finish. The spring 2027 line-up adds the base iPhone 18, an updated 18e and a second-generation iPhone Air. John Ternus takes over as chief executive on 1 September, in case the anniversary launch needed a little extra pressure.
For UAE buyers, the glass phone is a 2027 question. The nearer one is next month’s foldable iPhone, which tbreak has already priced for the region, and the iPhone 18 Pro range tipped for the September event. Both arrive in the UAE on the usual schedule — the anniversary model would follow a year later, if the glass holds.
Is the all-glass iPhone cancelled?
Bloomberg reports Apple’s glass-centric 20th anniversary iPhone is still on track for a 2027 launch, directly countering Jefferies analyst Edison Lee’s claim that the project was cancelled. Apple’s product roadmap has not changed, according to people familiar with the matter.
What will the 20th anniversary iPhone look like?
The anniversary Pro models, internally known as V73 and V74, are expected to use glass on the front and back that curves into the sides, with a metal band in the middle. A more ambitious all-glass design with less metal was dropped early because Apple could not join the glass panels at production volumes.
When is the 20th anniversary iPhone launching?
Apple typically finalises iPhone designs about a year before their autumn debut, so the 2027 plans are already in advanced testing. The anniversary phone is expected in September 2027, after next month’s foldable iPhone and iPhone 18 Pro.
Leave a Reply