Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 series, which is expected to include a new iPhone Air, is said to bring several design changes. Given the plethora of leaks we have seen so far, none of these are expected to be major redesigns, like the iPhone 12 (2020), or even the iPhone X (2017). Apple’s iPhone design has indeed stagnated over the years, with no major changes observed from the iPhone 12 till the currently available iPhone 16 models. However, new information suggests that Apple is planning a major design change for its iPhone 19 series, expected to be launched in 2027.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has so far been accurate when it comes to Apple leaks, gave out a tiny snippet of information about future iPhone models in his weekly Power On newsletter. Gurman stated that Apple is indeed preparing a “major shake-up” for its 20th anniversary iPhone. He added that there is a foldable version being worked on, but the new iPhone 19 Pro model will feature a design that will make “extensive use of glass”.
9to5Mac pointed out that such a design that relies heavily on glass, was in fact dreamed up by ex-design head Jony Ive. In the past, Ive had a vision for an iPhone which would appear like a single sheet of glass. While the iPhone X brought us closer to this idea and we do refer to modern day smartphones as “slabs of glass”, Apple’s iPhone is no longer the slim and svelte phone that they used to be prior to the iPhone X.
Modern day iPhone models are quite thick in comparison. An iPhone 8 Plus (2017) for example, was slimmer at 7.5mm, compared to the most expensive iPhone 16 Pro Max you can buy today. It measures a thicker 8.3mm, but of course has more cameras with better capability among other things.
It remains unclear whether Apple’s extensive use of glass will result in an iPhone that appears as aggressive as Xiaomi’s Mi Mix Alpha, which lacked volume buttons but had a wrap-around display. Or, whether it takes a more subtle approach with a design that gets rid of bezels entirely like an older Samsung Galaxy S9 with aggressively curved edges for its display. Indeed, the possibilities are limitless given current-day technologies, compared to what was available when the above devices were announced, around 2018.
The last time Apple celebrated its 10-year anniversary, we got the iPhone X, which was revolutionary in several ways. It introduced a brand-new design language by using a rounded stainless-steel frame in what was termed as a “bezel-less” format, sans any chunky borders that were present on regular models back then. It was the first iPhone to use an OLED display and also brought rounded corners to iOS. Face ID too was revolutionary in many ways and basically laid the foundation for Touch ID’s removal fromthe iPhone (as it stands today). The iPhone X also introduced Portrait mode which allowed clicking images with a software-enabled shallow depth of field.
