There could be a new three-year plan for the iPhone – here's how Apple can get it right

Fresh rumors suggest Apple has committed to a new three-year plan for the iPhone, with three radical new designs set to join or replace parts of the current flagship lineup.

This comes from Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s resident Apple correspondent and the tech industry’s most trusted Apple tipster, who shared some details of the rumored changes to the iPhone line-up (via Notebookcheck)

The flagship iPhone line-up has been composed of the same four variants since the release of the iPhone 14 series in 2022 – the current series comprises the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

And though the line-up had gone through some evolution before that – a mini phone here, a new button there – the core iPhone family hasn’t gone through any ground-breaking changes since the release of the iPhone 11, which introduced the Pro and Pro Max models all the way back in 2019.

The iPhone 17 series is likely just around the corner, as Apple has confirmed the date of its next event on September 9. We could see the first step in Apple’s rumored three-year plan come to life when the next-generation phones are revealed.

Numerous rumors suggest that this year’s iPhone 17 family will include a new iPhone 17 Air model instead of an iPhone 17 Plus. Gurman suggests 2026 will bring with it the long-rumored folding iPhone, while 2027 could see Apple release the ‘iPhone 20’, with a new design to commemorate 20 years of the iPhone.

Apple’s rivals have been working hard to challenge its long-standing position as the de facto leader in the mobile space – Samsung and Google are now openly joking about Apple in their events and marketing – so it seems about right that Cupertino wants to give the iPhone a shot in the arm – here’s what we want to see from the three rumored new iPhones.

iPhone 17 Air

The iPhone 17 Air has long been rumored as a replacement for the iPhone 16 Plus, taking the larger base model’s place in the lineup.

The release of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this year is sure to draw some comparisons if the iPhone 17 Air comes to fruition, but we had heard murmurs of a thin-and-light iPhone long before Samsung’s latest slab flagship arrived.

However, the Galaxy S25 Edge did give us a sense of the compromises necessary to build a flagship-grade smartphone in such slim package. Notably, the Galaxy S25 Edge lost its telephoto camera and comes with a much smaller battery than even the standard Galaxy S25.

It’s likely the supposed iPhone 17 Air would make similar adjustments, but the thing is the iPhone has less to work with than its Korean rival.

We’ve already seen renders that suggest the iPhone 17 Air will ship with just the one rear camera, and Gurman has suggested the phone will have reduced battery performance. Knowing Apple, a price rise to reflect the new premium design isn’t out of the question either.

Simply put, Apple will need to nail the rest of the experience to balance out any hardware cutbacks. The iPhone 17 Air would need to be durable enough to allay fears of the phone bending or breaking: people still haven't forgotten the iPhone 6 Plus 'bendgate' fiasco. It also needs to be fast enough to keep up with the rest of the iPhone 17 range, and noticeably lighter than the other big iPhone, presumably the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say a 120Hz ProMotion display is pretty much mandatory too, at least if Apple wants the Air to be seen as a truly viable choice. The current iPhone 16 Plus' 60Hz display is as much of an embarrassment now as it was five years ago.

Folding iPhone

Apple doesn’t rush. The iMac wasn’t the first personal computer, nor was the iPhone the first smartphone, nor was the iPad the first tablet, and the rumored folding iPhone certainly won’t be the first folding phone. Gurman reports that the folding iPhone is due for 2026, according to the supposed three-year iPhone plan.

The thing is, while the iPhone and iPad were instantly best-in-class products on launch, folding phones have got really, really good in the seven years since Samsung introduced the technology. I reviewed the Oppo Find N5 myself earlier this year, which is about as thick as two nickels when unfolded and runs like it’s being chased, and our recent Galaxy Z Fold 7 review found barely anything wrong with Samsung’s latest effort save for a high price tag.

So, how can the long-imagined and freshly rumored folding iPhone compete? By doing things the Apple way.

Not too long ago, we reported on rumors that suggested the folding iPhone might be a bit smaller and squatter than previously assumed – more like an iPad mini that folds in two than an iPhone 16 Pro Max that doubles outwards.

The more time’s gone on, the more I like this idea. The iPad mini is a great-sized tablet, and making it pocketable for people without freakishly large pockets is genuinely a great idea. Though the inner displays of contemporary folding phones are large and beautiful to look at, they’re typically near-square panels that aren’t specialized to anything except multitasking.

The iPad mini offers a similar amount of surface area in a taller format, making it better suited for watching videos, reading books, and scrolling through articles – the ability to fold it in half and make and receive phone calls would probably make the rumored folding iPhone worth picking up.

That leads me to my next point – price. Apple doesn’t rush, and it doesn’t hold back at the cash register either. The foldable iPhone could launch as an exemplar of tablet-first foldable design, but if it’s too expensive there’ll be no chance of a confident recommendation from me. Anything past the $1,999 / £1,899 / AU$2,899 price point set by the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be too much to even consider.

iPhone 20

There’s been less said about the final member of the rumored trio, which we’ll tentatively call the iPhone 20 as it seems to be a celebration of the iPhone’s 20th anniversary (much like the iPhone X back at the 10th anniversary in 2017).

All we’ve heard about this celebratory iPhone is that it’s rumored to feature a curved glass design that wraps around the edges of the phone. It’s possible that this could achieve a seamless effect.

This leaves everything else open to imagination for now – so, what would we want to see from the next era of iPhone were it to arrive in 2027?

Well… more of the same, really. The top-end iPhones – the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max – are some of the best phones on the market, and Apple has been on point with recent iterative updates. In the last three years alone, we got the Dynamic Island, Action Button, Camera Control, and 48-megapixel main and ultra-wide cameras on the top-end iPhones.

I’d personally like to see the next ‘landmark’ iPhone launch with a bigger battery with support for faster wired charging (at least 45W), a high-resolution telephoto camera (let’s shoot for 48MP) and some assurances surrounding durability – an IP69 rating would be nice, but I’m most concerned about the possibility of an all-glass phone being prone to shattering.

More creatively, the iPhone 20's design is tipped to mirror the general aesthetic of Liquid Glass, the new design language coming to iPhone with iOS 26. Perhaps we could get some cool transparency or multi-colored effects with the color options?

Of course, if Apple really wanted to make a phone for its long-term fans, it could always put a charger in the box or bring back the headphone jack. But something tells me a faster chipset and a bit more RAM are more likely options.

What do you make of the supposed three-year iPhone plan? What should Apple do to revitalise its mobile lineup? Let us know in the comments.

You might also like

• iPhone 17 launch date official as Apple sends out invites for ’Awe dropping’ event – here are 5 things to expect
• The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first IP68 folding phone, and that's a huge deal – here's why
• Google will soon stop you sideloading unverified apps – here’s what that means for you