The 20th-anniversary iPhone’s display could lose the bezel and camera hole.
Apple’s 20th-anniversary model of iPhone is in development, with screen and battery changes expected for the milestone model.
It takes Apple quite a long time to design and manufacture its upcoming generations of iPhone. For its 2027 release, which marks the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, the company has started to make preparations for the special smartphone.
According to sources of ET News on Wednesday, Apple has spoken to companies within its supply chain about some of the technology changes for the model.
This will apparently mirror the major shift in design introduced with the iPhone X for the tenth anniversary. That model used an edge-to-edge OLED display, and switched out Touch ID and a physical Home button in favor of Face ID.
Big screen changes
One of the major updates Apple is planning is the use of an OLED driver display chip (DDI) based on the FinFET’s 3D structure. The chip, which issues instructions to the pixels of the display, is currently produced using a 28-nanometer planar process, with the FinFET switch using a 16-nanometer method instead.
The change will help reduce the amount of power consumed by the display, alongside the use of high-luminous efficiency OLED elements. This all-new design will be more power-efficient.
Supply chain talks with LG Display and Samsung Display, Apple’s chief screen supply chain partners, are expected soon to discuss the tech changes.
This may not be the only display change, as a source says that four-sided bending display technologies are being developed as well as under-display cameras. If they can be commercialized, they can make a big change to how the displays are made, including eliminating the bezel completely.
Battery questions
While the new display should reduce power consumption at a time when on-device AI processing such as Apple Intelligence needs even more, there can be more power changes as well.
The use of a pure silicon battery is also a prospect. The idea is that the use of 100% silicon as a cathode instead of graphite could considerably increase the energy density, so it can hold more power in the cell.
A secondary benefit is an improvement to battery endurance. A battery that is more hardy and deteriorates at a slower rate than current-gen versions, meaning users will have more usage of the entire capacity for longer.
This is an idea that has rattled around for a few years, but has yet to make it to Apple’s production lines.
A likely prospect, for a modern flagship phone
The idea of Apple introducing a 20th-anniversary iPhone is plausible, especially considering that the iPhone X did the same for the ten-year mark. A 20-year milestone model is pretty much a certainty for the company.
While ET News doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to identifying product specifications, it does still fare well when it comes to supply chain stories.
Also in the publication’s favor is that it’s not the only outlet to talk about the supposed model. It has been raised as a possibility in April 2025, while a report on May 11 said it will be a “mostly glass curved iPhone.”
