Apple’s all-glass iPhone overhaul isn’t being shelved after all, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The long-rumored device celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original iPhone is allegedly on track for a 2027 release despite a recent analyst report indicating Apple was no longer working on the design.
Gurman reported on Tuesday that a new look will appear on iPhone Pro models next year, and that glass will be used on both the front and back of the phones. “The material will curve into the sides of the devices, with a metal band in the middle,” he wrote.
That doesn’t mean the design process for the glassier iPhone model has been without its challenges. Gurman’s source said Apple experimented with a “more aspirational” version of the phone earlier in the design process, but that was scrapped early on in favor of a phone with more metal parts.
“With that approach, the company encountered problems connecting the glass panels together,” Gurman wrote. “The design didn’t hold up when Apple had to figure out how to produce it at large volumes.”
The production troubles with the earlier design may have been one of the reasons that Jefferies’ analyst Edison Lee circulated a report about the all-glass iPhone’s cancellation this week.
Lee blamed a “poor production yield” for the supposed cancellation, claiming the design was being reproduced with too many defects during testing. He arrived at this conclusion based on checks of Apple’s supply chain, but it’s possible that the necessary materials changed when moving from the earlier design to a more finalized form.
Rumors have circulated about a glass-centric iPhone for years: Apple filed a patent for a phone with a “six-sided glass enclosure” in 2019. That design featured curved glass panels very similar to the ones described in Gurman’s report.
The glassy iPhone is reportedly going to be a premium product, positioned at the level of the iPhone Pro — and thanks to RAMageddon pushing hardware production costs higher, mobile phones and laptops are becoming more expensive than ever before. While Lee’s reporting on the design’s cancellation was incorrect, his assertion that the design would cost around $2,060 may be accurate.
The all-glass iPhone isn’t the only rumored shakeup to Apple’s mobile product line. It’s possible that the tech giant reveals its first foldable phone this year, jumping into a growing segment of the market with a device that one analyst believes might also cost more than $2,000.
A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He’s previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. When Tyler’s not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game.
You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.
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