iPhone 20 expected to completely overhaul design with 'all-glass' model
Imagine trying to explain mobile phones to our ancestors who relied on pigeons and letters to transmit communications.
Even explaining modern smartphones to someone who died in the '80s and saw those bulky car phones as the peak of futuristic technology would likely be a challenge, with today's handsets barely being phones at all.
With the rapid expansion of mobile networks, smartphones are now tiny computers in our hands, as typical desktops and even laptops have been completely replaced by some.
The Matrix featured the spring-loaded Nokia 8110, and while we’re not quite in the realm of Tony Stark hacking a congressional hearing with a completely see-through smartphone, or Avatar's transparent datapads, if anyone can get us there, it could be Apple.
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Even though all eyes are on the tech giant's long-rumored folding iPhone Ultra and hopeful reveal in 2026, Apple being late to the market on the foldable front hopefully won't hold it back in other departments.
iPhone 20 could finally go all-glass for Apple
You might've seen those images of all-glass iPhones floating around on the internet, but as with far too many things in 2026, they're just concepts or someone's clickbait AI creation. There was even a viral TikTok showing off a woman with her transparent smartphone, but again, it's not the real deal.
Despite this, there could be some truth to the rumors, with MacRumors suggesting an all-glass iPhone 20 is the way to celebrate the monumental milestone.
Apparently, Apple might skip the release of the iPhone 19 and mark the 20th anniversary of the OG iPhone with the iPhone 20. Given that the 10th iteration was the iPhone X, the iPhone XX has a nice ring to it.
We're also reminded that the iPhone X's release in 2017 was a massive design leap as it ditched the Home button and added an edge-to-edge display to honor 10 years of the brand.
According to MacRumors, glass is at the core of the mythical iPhone 20's design, with a March 2025 report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman referring to 2027's "mostly glass, curved iPhone — without any cutouts in the display — is due to hit" after the folding iPhone.
Apple's supply chain has supposedly already completed renovations in anticipation of production, with consumers told to expect a build quality similar to the first generation of iPhone Air. With a proposed return to glass backs, we're closer than ever to former Apple design chief Jony Ive's hopes of seeing an iPhone that resembles a slab of glass.
As far back as 2016, The Wall Street Journal was writing about how Ive "expressed a desire for the iPhone to appear like a single sheet of glass."
The latest iPhone 20 updates
There were mentions that Apple had submitted a patent for a "six-sided glass enclosure" in 2025, while MacRumors maintains that the iPhone 20 will avoid the 'waterfall' edges of Samsung's Galaxy phones.
We should look out for 'micro-curves' instead of a deep roll, hoping to make swipes from the edge feel more natural, the device feel softer in our hands, and avoid distortion when looking at content on our glorious glass iPhones.
If you want a glimpse of what that might look like, one mock-up showcases a bezel size of just 1.1mm when compared to the current 1.44mm on the iPhone 17 Pro. Finally, with the iPhone 18 Pro expected to ship with a smaller Dynamic Island, that could be getting even smaller with the iPhone 20.
Take all of the above with a pinch of salt, and notably, there are questions about the feasibility of an all-screen display. Still, with the iPhone arguably being one of the biggest steps in the evolution of the communications industry, expect Apple to celebrate its 20th anniversary in style.