Apple to celebrate iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2026 with foldable iPhone, 'bold new' Pro model

Apple will launch the iPhone 17 later this year without many changes to the design, and while the new iPhone 17 Air will be an ultra-thin experience, from the front it shouldn't look any different... but the company has a major design overhaul teased for the iPhone 18.

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In a new post by Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, we're learning that Apple is reportedly preparing a "major shake-up" for the iPhone and its huge 20-year anniversary in 2026. Gurman says that we can expect a foldable iPhone -- something that has been rumored as the iPhone Ultra recently, with more on that here -- but a "bold new Pro model" that makes more "extensive use of glass".

Apple's next-gen iPhone 18 Pro could be a single piece of glass, with its compute stick at the bottom, and cameras on the rear... something that has been rumored since the iPhone 8 in 2016.

• Read more: iPhone 18 in 2026 to use 2nm chip made by TSMC, iPhone 17 chip made on 3nm
• Read more: Apple's next-gen A20 Pro chip will power iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max on TSMC 2nm

It's actually interesting to read through some of the predictions from back then, as this post about the new iPhone being just a "clear piece of glass" with AI was all the way back in 2016... nearly 10 years ago now. Apple was about to release the iPhone 8 at the time, with the following things rumored at the time:

• Apple's big shift into VR will make VR "mainstream".
• It won't just be VR - but mixed reality and AR, so we could expect a larger Google Glass-like headset accessory.
• AI is the next big leap, and if Apple can do it right - judging by (Robert) Scoble's contact, AI will be in center focus for iPhone 8.
• An all-glass iPhone 8? That would truly be revolutionary in design, and explains the shift to Lightning only on iPhone 7.
• The 'compute in a strip at the bottom' sounds beyond exciting, almost too futuristic for 2017.
• It explains all of the iterative updates to the iPhone, as Apple were waiting for the big leap.
• Siri lags behind Google Now in a huge way, Apple needs a miracle for AI.
• Google's new Assistant on Pixel is a big step towards more 'AI' like intelligence at your fingertips.