Revealed at WWDC earlier this week, Apple’s new Liquid Glass UI in iOS 26 feels like more than just a design refresh. It’s more important than that, potentially laying the groundwork for the next generation of Apple hardware.
When Apple debuted the Liquid Glass UI at WWDC, it was hard not to notice how specific it felt; like the software was anticipating a specific type of device, one not yet in Apple’s collection. The fluid UI certainly feels at odds with the boxy, industrial design of the current iPhone collection.
With rumours suggesting that the 20th anniversary iPhone, due for release in 2027, could sport a dramatic redesign, it looks like Apple is indeed gearing up for a complete hardware refresh – and I can’t wait.
Curves, glass and no notch
According to Bloomberg’s ever-accurate Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a 20th anniversary iPhone – codenamed Glasswing – with a design focused on a seamless, edge-to-edge glass display.
Ironically, while some of the best phones in 2025 have left curved glass behind in favour of flat panels like that of the iPhone, Glasswing is said to have a curved glass screen. It’s much more than just a curved screen though; reports claim that it’ll have no noticeable bezel at all, with the front-facing camera and Face ID smarts hidden underneath the screen.
Now these are just rumours, and likely early ones at that, meaning plans between now and 2027 could change dramatically.
But, if not, it could represent one of the biggest hardware shifts undertaken by Apple in recent years. It feels like it could be the next iPhone X moment, the design that’ll signal the next five-plus years of iPhone design.
Of course, integrating elements like Face ID and a front-facing camera beneath the screen would be a major engineering challenge.
We’ve seen it in various forms on the Android front, from disappointing attempts like that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 to fairly invisible alternatives like that of the RedMagic 10 Pro, but those focus only on cameras. The Face ID components add an extra level of complexity there.
If Apple can manage it, it could mark the start of a new, clean look for future iPhones – just like recent iPhones are all recognisable by the Face ID notch.
Apple’s reputation for marrying software and hardware design
The new Liquid Glass UI introduces elements that react to motion, lighting and user interaction. It’s visually dynamic, but in a rather subtle way. That works just fine on current models of iPhone, but it doesn’t exactly feel ‘right’.
Apple has a long history of marrying software and hardware design. Take the Dynamic Island as an example; Apple took what was a hated hardware design feature and, with software smarts, turned it into one of the iPhone’s most notable features.
It doesn’t feel like that’s happening with the current iPhone design. The Liquid Glass aesthetic, with its responsive light refraction and soft visual transitions, doesn’t quite fit the sharp-edged, industrial design of the iPhone 16 collection.
The curvy, dynamic nature of the upcoming UI would definitely lend itself better to a curved screen phone, one that’d match the digital light refraction seen in Liquid UI elements and further blend the real and digital worlds.
The durability trade-off
Now, there is a big caveat to this: durability. Curved glass has historically been more susceptible to cracks and chips, a significant factor driving the recent shift to flat screens on smartphones. Just as iPhones are getting truly durable, Apple could switch to a design that makes them, once again, fairly fragile.
Of course, Apple will likely combat this with upgraded screen protection and other design magic, but that still might not offset the risk of everyday drops – especially one of those curved glass corners takes the full force of impact.
That begs the question: how many users will be willing to carry around a phone this exposed? If most people end up shoving it in a bulky case, the phone would likely lose much of its magic.
Regardless, it looks like the 2027 iPhone could represent a massive turning point for Apple and the iPhone in particular, giving us a good idea of what iPhones – as well as iPads and Apple Watches, which follow the iPhone design language – could look like for years to come.
For more on the new software announced by Apple during WWDC, see our iPadOS 26 devices list, MacOS 26 devices list and why we think WWDC 25 was a success. We’ve also compared iOS 26 vs iOS 18 to really see what’s new.
