Apple's 20th-anniversary iPhone will be made using the same glass manufacturing process developed for the iPhone Air, according to the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that iPhone Air manufacturing equipment has been modified to produce more rounded glass components for next year's 20th anniversary iPhone, which has helped to reduce Apple's manufacturing costs. The leaker added that overall heat dissipation and thinness have both improved substantially as a result of the changes.
The claim builds on the leaker's earlier report that a supply chain facility had finished renovations ahead of "iPhone 20" production, with manufacturing quality expected to land somewhere around that of the first-generation iPhone Air. The iPhone Air is Apple's thinnest iPhone to date at 5.6mm and uses a polished titanium frame with a glass back.
The report adds incremental detail to a redesign that has been rumored for well over a year. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is aiming for a "mostly glass, curved iPhone without any cutouts in the display" to mark the iPhone's 20th anniversary, with curved glass wrapping around all sides of the device.
The 20th-anniversary iPhone models are expected to launch in the fall of 2027, following the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 in the spring.
