The iPhone’s journey began in 2007 by changing the smartphone market forever, replacing physical keyboards with a 3.5-inch multi-touch display. Now, as the device moves toward its 20th anniversary, Apple may be preparing for another major design shift, a seamless, completely buttonless iPhone.
Is Apple planning its biggest iPhone redesign in years?
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has added fresh weight to the iPhone 20 redesign rumors. In the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter, Gurman said Apple’s 20th-anniversary iPhone overhaul is internally referred to by some as “Glasswing,” a name inspired by the glasswing butterfly and its transparent wings.
According to Gurman, the design includes glass edges that curve smoothly into the display on all four sides. Gurman also said Apple’s Liquid Glass interface is being shaped around this hardware direction, with the software designed to visually blend into the iPhone’s glass-heavy body. The idea appears to be a tighter connection between the device and the operating system.
Previous reporting has also pointed to Apple exploring a return to curved-screen styling. The design may aim for a seamless visual effect rather than bringing back the sharply sloped waterfall displays seen on some older Android phones.
Could the iPhone 18 start the shift earlier?
The buttonless part of the story comes from an earlier Weibo leak by Chinese tipster Instant Digital from October 2025. The tipster claimed Apple’s solid-state button plan had completed functional verification and was being prepared for mass production on the 2027 iPhone 20.
According to that leak, the power button, volume buttons, Action button, and Camera Control button could all move to solid-state controls with localized vibration feedback. That would allow the iPhone to simulate a physical click without using traditional moving buttons.
Instant Digital also claimed Apple may begin the transition earlier with the iPhone 18. The Camera Control button is said to get a simpler structure by removing the capacitive sensing layer and keeping pressure recognition.
Ming-Chi Kuo had previously reported that Apple was working on solid-state power and volume buttons for the iPhone 15 Pro. However, the feature was later shelved due to technical and manufacturing issues. If Apple has managed to fix those issues, the iPhone 20 might finally be the one to go fully buttonless.
