Apple’s much-rumored “iPhone 20,” slated for a 2027 launch to mark the iPhone’s 20th anniversary, will not feature a completely uninterrupted display, contrary to earlier speculation. The device, which will skip the “iPhone 19” nomenclature, will instead include a small cutout, likely a refined Dynamic Island, on a new “quad-curved” bezel-less screen, according to leaker Digital Chat Station, a detail corroborated by other industry watchers.
The reality of a "hole" in the display, Mashable reported, is a major change from the initial plan for a single slab of glass, according to leaker Digital Chat Station.
The Quad-Curve Compromise and the Ghost of the Dynamic Island
The persistent rumors, now coalescing around a more concrete vision, point to a display that is radically thin on the sides but retains a small interruption at the top.
Why is this the likely path forward? It’s a matter of practical physics and component integration. Hiding a high-resolution front-facing camera and the complex array of sensors required for Face ID under a display is not a trivial task. It requires a transparent region (a “pinhole camera” or under-display camera) that, while small, is still a physical interruption in the screen surface.
Apple’s current solution, the Dynamic Island, is a software-driven integration of the front camera and Face ID sensors into a pill-shaped cutout. It turns a necessary hardware compromise into a UI feature. The anniversary iPhone is expected to refine this, but not eliminate it. The new design reportedly features slimmer bezels and a more aggressive curve, making the cutout seem less obtrusive, but it will still be there.
The 30-Second Verdict on the Display
Forget the bezel-less fantasy. The 2027 iPhone 20 will have a quad-curved screen with a small Dynamic Island-style cutout. This is the compromise between design and functionality.
iPhone Duo Display Has No Face ID
The conversation around the anniversary iPhone is inextricably linked to the existing iPhone Duo, a device that Mashable has tested and reported on. The Duo already features a fully uninterrupted inner display, with the FaceTime camera hidden underneath.
Having tested the iPhone Duo, Mashable can confirm that such a display is indeed “pretty great” from a visual standpoint. It offers a clean, immersive viewing experience. However, this benefit comes with two major caveats that are deal-breakers for a flagship device. There is no Face ID; the Duo relies on a side-mounted Touch ID sensor. More critically, the under-display FaceTime camera is limited to a low 4-megapixel resolution and produces poor-quality selfies. It simply cannot compete with the image quality of the standard front-facing cameras on other recent iPhones.
This leads to the central engineering question: Can Apple overcome these limitations in time for the 2027 anniversary model? While it’s probable that Apple is working on improving the resolution and quality of under-display cameras, achieving a drastic leap in performance to match the current standard in just over a year is a monumental challenge. The separate, even more complex problem of hiding the entire Face ID sensor array—including the dot projector and infrared camera—under the display is still a major obstacle.
Apple Plans iPhone 18 Series with New Chip
The focus on the 2027 device shouldn’t obscure the immediate future. According to Digital Chat Station, Apple is preparing a full slate of new iPhones for the first half of next year, including the iPhone 18e, iPhone 18, and iPhone Air 2. The standard iPhone 18 is shaping up to be a significant hardware upgrade.
The device is rumored to feature a 6.3-inch 1.5K (likely referring to a 2778 x 1284 resolution) 120Hz OLED display, Apple’s next-generation 2nm A20 chip, and a dual 48-megapixel camera setup. A larger battery is also expected to help power the more demanding screen and processor. However, this enhanced experience will come at a cost. Mashable reported that the price of the iPhone 18 will also increase, though the exact percentage or dollar amount remains unknown.
The transition to a 2nm process for the A20 chip is a critical development. This manufacturing node, a leap from the 3nm process in the A18, promises significant gains in both power efficiency and raw computational performance.
| Rumored Specification | iPhone 18 | iPhone 20 (2027 Anniversary) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch 1.5K 120Hz OLED with Dynamic Island | Quad-curved OLED with “small” Dynamic Island-style cutout |
| Camera (Front) | Standard Face ID Camera | High-res under-display camera? (Unlikely for 2027) |
| Notable Feature | Larger Battery | 20th Anniversary Special Edition |
