2028 iPhone rumors point to a polished redesign

Rumors about Apple’s 2028 iPhone are already outlining a second stage for the company’s next major redesign. The model is expected to refine the 20th anniversary iPhone arriving in 2027, improving its curved display, reducing front-panel cutouts and adding more capable cameras.

The 2027 model is expected to introduce a display that curves down around all four edges, creating a near-borderless effect. Reports indicate that the first version may have visible compromises, making the 2028 iPhone the likely point at which Apple polishes the design. The details remain unconfirmed and could change before production.

A refined four-edge curved display

The 2028 iPhone is expected to retain much of the 2027 model’s design, including a curved all-glass body and a screen wrapping around all four edges. Apple may also use a crater-shaped light diffusion layer to keep brightness consistent across the curved sections, along with solid-state haptic buttons integrated into the frame.

The larger display change could come from the cathode material. The anniversary iPhone is said to use a magnesium-silver alloy cathode layer, which can cause image distortion and reduced brightness in curved areas. According to Korea’s ETNews, the 2028 model may switch to more transparent indium zinc oxide cathodes.

That material is reportedly intended to reduce distortion, improve brightness uniformity and limit heat problems at the curved edges. It could also allow Apple to make the bezels narrower than on the 2027 model, bringing the phone closer to a genuinely all-screen front.

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Apple’s longer-term objective remains moving both Face ID and the front camera beneath the display. DSCC’s Ross Young has said under-display Face ID is unlikely to be ready for 2027, so the 20th anniversary iPhone may still use a Dynamic Island similar to the one expected on the iPhone 18 Pro.

That would leave the 2028 model as the more likely candidate for a smaller hole-punch cutout—or, if the technology is ready, a fully uninterrupted display with Face ID and the camera hidden beneath the panel.

Tandem OLED and the A22 Pro chip

Apple is reportedly considering tandem OLED for the iPhone as early as 2028. The company already uses the technology in the M4 iPad Pro.

Tandem OLED stacks two organic light-emitting layers instead of using the single layer found in current iPhones. The approach can deliver higher brightness, longer panel life and better power efficiency. LG Display is said to be promoting a “simplified tandem” design that stacks two layers only for the blue sub-pixel, although Apple has not made a final decision.

The high-end 2028 models are also expected to move from the 2-nanometer process reportedly planned for 2027 to a 1.4-nanometer “A22 Pro” chip. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the processor will be built on TSMC’s A14 node, which is said to provide up to 15% better performance than a 2nm chip, or the same performance with 30% lower power draw.

TSMC is expected to manufacture most of the chips. Apple is also reportedly considering Intel as a supplier for some units.

A 200-megapixel telephoto camera

Apple has reportedly tested a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto sensor in prototypes. The technology is unlikely to reach an iPhone before 2028, according to the leaker known as Digital Chat Station. Morgan Stanley has similarly reported that Apple is working to bring a 200-megapixel camera to the iPhone as soon as 2028.

The higher-resolution sensor would capture more detail and allow users to crop images more aggressively or reproduce them at larger sizes without the same loss of quality.

The 2028 iPhone is still around 26 months away, so none of these plans is settled. Apple has not confirmed the design, specifications, suppliers or release timing. Even so, the timeframe is relevant to current buyers: someone purchasing an iPhone 18 Pro this September on a typical two-year upgrade cycle would be due for their next iPhone in 2028.

That places the rumored model at the end of a redesign arc that begins with the 2027 anniversary iPhone and is expected to reach a more polished form the following year.