iPhone Redesign for 20th Anniversary: Display Will Be “Invisible” — With a Catch

Apple is preparing a noticeable refresh of the iPhone lineup for 2027 — which will mark the device’s 20th anniversary. According to multiple supply chain sources, the company is testing a new type of display that could be marketed as “Liquid Glass Display” and become the key feature of the anniversary model.

This isn’t about a classic “curved” screen like Android phone makers tried a few years ago. Instead, it’s a panel with barely noticeable curvature on all four sides, developed in partnership with Samsung, Apple’s main supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone. The main idea behind the update is to visually eliminate the bezels — not through extreme bending, but through a combination of optical effects: light refraction, special light-guiding structures, and the properties of the panel itself. The result should be a screen whose boundaries are nearly invisible, without distorting the image around the edges.

Additionally, the use of COE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) technology or a similar Pol-less approach has been reported. Both methods ditch the traditional polarizer layer in favor of a color filter, which reduces panel thickness, boosts brightness, and cuts power consumption. For mobile devices, that’s critical — the display remains one of the biggest battery drains. Insiders also note that the new screen will be part of a broader interface design concept. Inside the company, they’re reportedly testing a visual style tentatively called “liquid glass,” meant to enhance the transparency and depth that the display itself creates.

Fully hiding Face ID under the display remains tricky without sacrificing quality, and by current estimates, Apple might only manage to integrate the infrared sensors for facial recognition under the screen by 2027 — the front camera would still live inside a small cutout. Ditching the notch entirely at this stage seems unlikely. The idea of a display curved on all four sides isn’t new — similar solutions have already appeared from Chinese manufacturers. But in Apple’s case, the focus isn’t on form for form’s sake — it’s about the overall visual effect and precise optical tuning. If the leaks hold up, the company will be trying to reinvent display design, not just copy existing approaches.

Just how far this experiment will go remains unclear. Concepts of a fully “glass” iPhone with no visible bezels have been floating around for years, but technological limits are still very real. Still, the anniversary model could become one of the biggest design overhauls in recent memory. Speaking of which, the latest iOS 26.4.1 update could seriously mess with iPhones.

What do you think? Do nearly bezel-less screens with optical effects actually make sense, or is this more marketing than real user experience improvement? Drop your thoughts in the comments.