Apple iPhone redesign plans face conflicting reports amid rising component costs

Apple is facing conflicting reports regarding its design roadmap for the iPhone 20th anniversary in 2027. Jefferies analyst Edison Lee recently downgraded Apple stock, claiming the company scrapped plans for a radical “all-glass” iPhone due to low manufacturing yields and profitability concerns. This report led to a decline in Apple's stock price.

However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has disputed these claims, stating that the glass-centric redesign remains on track for 2027. While an extremely ambitious version with almost no metal may have been abandoned early in development, the current plan for the anniversary models (codenamed V73 and V74) involves a design where glass covers the front and back, curving around the edges to meet a thin central metal band. This design is expected to feature a quad-curved display and potentially under-display Face ID technology.

Separately, the upcoming iPhone 18 series faces significant cost pressures. Rising prices for DRAM, NAND flash memory, and the transition to TSMC’s 2nm process for the A20 chip are expected to drive up hardware costs. Analysts suggest this may lead to price increases for the iPhone 18 Pro models, with some estimates predicting a rise of $200 to $300 per unit. To mitigate these costs, Apple may implement a strategy of increasing prices for high-end models while attempting to maintain competitiveness for standard versions.