Apple's anniversary iPhone: iOS 26 foreshadows brand-new iPhone design

Apple will unveil iOS 26 at the opening of the WWDC in just a few hours, which will give the iPhone a fundamentally revised user interface that focuses more than ever on transparency, lighting and shadows. Windows, buttons and pop-ups will look as if they are made of frosted glass, blurring objects behind them. This "Liquid Glass" interface is intended to distract customers from the fact that the company has no groundbreaking AI features up its sleeve.

According to Bloomberg, iOS 26 is also a preview of the iPhone's glass design, which is expected be unveiled on the 20th anniversary of the first iPhone, marking Apple's final departure from the iPhone 16 design after more than six years. This is likely to be the iPhone 19 Pro, which is said to be getting a launch in 2027. Bloomberg confirms earlier rumors that this iPhone will be made almost entirely of glass; even the frame is said to be swapping titanium for glass, while the display and the back will be heavily rounded on all four sides.

The screen bezels are said to be "extraordinarily thin", while Apple is reportedly doing away with a punch-hole altogether as both the selfie camera and the Face ID sensors are said to be inconspicuously installed under the display for the first time on the iPhone 19 Pro. The anniversary iPhone is apparently internally called "Glasswing", a reference to a butterfly with transparent wings. Previous rumors also hinted at an advanced battery made entirely of silicon instead of the current battery mix of around 20% silicon and carbon.