Apple’s 20th Edition iPhone: Micro-curved display, new battery tech, A21 chip and expected upgrades

While the iPhone 18 Pro lineup is just months away, we have now begun to see leaks about even Apple’s upcoming iPhone after that. A fresh report has revealed Apple’s plans for the 20th Edition iPhone, which could include the company using a display mechanism that has long been used by Android smartphone makers.

What is Apple planning with 20th Edition iPhone?

As you may have already gathered, leaks have suggested for a while that Apple will likely be ditching the iPhone 19 moniker in favour of the 20th Edition iPhone. However, a new leak has suggested a major display overhaul for the upcoming flagship iPhone.

As per tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Apple is said to be working with Samsung to ‘make Pol-less screens’ for the 20th Edition iPhone with four micro-curves and a small curvature.

While leaks have previously suggested that the phone could have a quad-curved display, the use of a micro-curved panel could mean that the glass would taper off at all four edges. This should give the 20th Edition iPhone the appearance of thinner bezels and a more immersive display experience without the accidental touches that usually come with quad-curved panels.

What to expect from 20th Edition iPhone?

Mark Gurman had noted in an earlier report that Apple is planning to launch the 20th Edition iPhone with a ‘mostly glass, curved’ display without any cutouts. The reporter had noted that it would mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone X that had started the transition to an all-screen, glass-focused design of iPhones.

Notably, Apple is also said to be using a brighter and thinner OLED panel for the 20th anniversary iPhone, and the company is planning to use a Samsung panel with Color Filter on Encapsulation (COE) technology to remove the polarizing film that comes on an OLED panel.

The company is said to be working towards removing the Dynamic Island and selfie camera cutout completely in order to deliver a full-glass design. Apple is already said to be reducing the size of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, and the 20th Edition iPhone could be the next step for the Cupertino-based tech giant.

Meanwhile, Digital Chat Station had also previously noted that Apple was testing under-screen camera technology for the 20th-anniversary iPhone in order to maintain an uninterrupted viewing experience on the device.

The company is also said to be developing a new battery technology for its flagship iPhone by using pure silicon anode batteries to store more lithium ions per gram than the batteries used on current iPhones. This could lead to a significant increase in battery life without actually increasing the battery size, according to a MacRumors report.

The 20th Edition iPhone is also expected to come with Apple’s own modem that could outperform its Qualcomm rival.

Reportedly, Apple’s in-house modems are said to be more efficient than Qualcomm modems because of the company being able to better integrate the different hardware components. The use of its in-house modem is also expected to improve the battery life on the 20th Edition iPhone.

As for the processor, the 20th Edition iPhone could come with an A21 series chipset based on TSMC’s 2nm process. The first processor by Apple on a 2nm process is likely going to be the A20 Pro, which could debut with the iPhone 18 Pro lineup in September this year.