This year, Apple is reportedly planning to launch iPhone 17 Air, a slimmer model that will replace the Plus variant.
Apple’s curved-glass smartphone will reportedly be called the iPhone 20 series
Apple is reportedly planning a three-year overhaul to reinvent the iPhone lineup, which begins this September. As per the report, the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to introduce two new smartphone form factors in 2025 and 2026, and then redesign the existing lineup on the 20th anniversary of the iPhone. The company will reportedly begin the reinvention process by introducing the iPhone 17 Air this year, a slimmer take on the existing lineup. Next year, the tech giant is said to launch the first foldable iPhone.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed in the Power On newsletter that Apple is focusing on its iPhone lineup, which has remained visually the same for a number of years. The overhaul process, which is said to start this year and be completed in 2027, will reportedly bring new iPhone models to the lineup as well as redesign the existing design elements of the current iPhone devices.
As per the report, the tech giant's first step towards this reinvention is the iPhone 17 Air, which will be launched this year. Also confirmed via multiple reports, the iPhone 17 Air will reportedly be the slimmer and lighter version of the regular iPhone, with some compromises. It is said to have an inferior battery life and no space for a physical SIM card slot.
It will reportedly feature Apple's first in-house modem chip instead of a more powerful chipset from Qualcomm. In a separate post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Gurman claimed that the company might also launch a “bumper case” for the 17 Air that surrounds the device's edges but does not cover the back. This was notably first seen with the iPhone 4 in 2010. The rest of the iPhone series is expected to visually remain the same.
In 2026, Gurman claims that Apple's first foldable iPhone will join the lineup. The report claims that it is currently under development under the codename V68, and it is a book-style foldable that converts a smartphone into a mini tablet. The device will reportedly feature four cameras, with one placed on the front (the cover display), one on the inside (the unfolded display), and two on the back. Additionally, it is said that the foldable iPhone will feature Touch ID instead of Face ID, and lack a physical SIM card slot.
Finally, in 2027, the tech giant will completely revamp the main iPhone series, Gurman claimed. The redesign will reportedly include a curved-glass design which is said to complement the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26. This version of the iPhone will reportedly be known as iPhone 20, with the company skipping a generation. Notably, the naming change will occur due to 2028 being the 20th anniversary of the iPhone. No other details about the device is known at the moment.
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