Apple is planning a busy year for the iPhone, according to a new report that maps out which models are expected to arrive and how the company plans to spread them out.

The roundup covers everything from a refreshed base model and a new budget option to a slimmer lightweight phone, a second foldable, and a redesigned flagship meant to celebrate a major milestone for the product.

Apple Is Gearing Up For a Massive 2027 for iPhones

9to5Mac says 2027 is going to be a relatively big iPhone release year for Apple, with new models arriving in both the spring and the fall. The iPhone 18 Pro has been on the market for about a month, while preorders for the new iPhone Duo have just opened and the foldable is reportedly backordered through January.

The company introduced a split release schedule with the iPhone 18 lineup, which grew to six models and made a single launch event too crowded. Under that plan, flagships arrive in the fall, and lower-end devices follow in the spring, which means the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo came first.

9to5Mac reported that the earlier fourth model in the lineup, whether it was the mini or the Plus, had never sold well at launch, so Apple wanted to give the extra phones their own spotlight. Pricing is also part of the picture, since the iPhone 17 rose from $799 to $899 last month, and 9to5Mac expects the base iPhone 18 to start at that same price.

First Half of 2027 iPhone Lineup

The spring lineup is made up of the iPhone 18, the iPhone 18e, and the iPhone Air 2, and it marks the first time Apple will introduce its base iPhone in the spring. Digital Chat Station, a Weibo leaker with a track record of accurate iPhone leaks, says all three will use 1.5K OLED displays.

The iPhone 18 is expected to have a 6.3-inch display with a 120Hz LTPO panel, and the upgrades are not entirely clear yet, though more RAM, thermal improvements, and Apple's new C2 modem are among the likely changes. It will use the A20 chip, and 9to5Mac says it will probably start at $899, with a possible design update that brings it closer to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro.

The iPhone 18e will most likely be a chip bump from the A19 to the A20, and Digital Chat Station says it will have a 6.12-inch LTPO OLED display at 60Hz. Apple is also reportedly merging production techniques for the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, so 9to5Mac says the two phones might only differ in areas such as display panels and cameras.

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The iPhone Air 2 is the model 9to5Mac says is most worth looking forward to, since Apple went back to the drawing board and modified the design to fit an ultrawide camera, which is why it could not launch last month. It is expected to have a 6.55-inch LTPO display, possibly a smaller Dynamic Island, the C2 modem in place of the C1X, and a battery reportedly as large as 3,500mAh, roughly 10 percent bigger than the original.

Second Half of 2027 iPhones

Apple is expected to debut a fully redesigned iPhone 20 Pro in the fall to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, and 9to5Mac says it will reportedly be much more glassy with significantly slimmer bezels. It is also expected to drop the flat edge design used since the iPhone 12 and to offer a much smaller Dynamic Island, likely with a hole-punch selfie camera and under-display Face ID.

Digital Chat Station says the iPhone 20 Pro will have a 6.41 inch screen and the iPhone 20 Pro Max a 6.96-inch screen, which would beat the iPhone 18 Pro at 6.27 inches and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at 6.86 inches. That would make them the biggest iPhone screens ever, aside from the 7.6-inch inner display on the iPhone Duo.

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The iPhone Duo 2 is also expected in the fall as a successor to the foldable that has only just opened for preorders. 9to5Mac says there are not many substantial rumors yet, though it hopes for Face ID and better cameras and expects next-generation Apple silicon in the form of an A21 Pro chip.

What happens with the base iPhone 20 models remains unknown, since the 9to5Mac roundup does not mention them or give any hint about their timing. It is not clear whether they will launch alongside the Pro models in the fall or follow the split schedule Apple is using for the iPhone 18 lineup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the iPhone 20 Pro?

The iPhone 20 Pro is the rumored flagship Apple is expected to release for the iPhone's 20th anniversary, and it has not been officially announced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in August that the anniversary iPhone remains on track for next year, with glass on the front and back that "will curve into the sides of the devices, with a metal band in the middle."

When Is Apple Releasing the iPhone 20 Base Version?

Apple has not confirmed a release date for a base iPhone 20, and 9to5Mac's roundup of 2027 lists only the iPhone 20 Pro and iPhone Duo 2 for the fall. Nothing in the report says whether the base model will arrive with the flagships or follow a separate schedule.

For context, the iPhone 18 lineup shows how Apple is now spreading releases, with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo arriving in the fall of 2026 and the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 following in the spring of 2027. Whether the iPhone 20 family will use the same approach is not addressed in current reports, so the timing of the base model remains an open question.

What Is Apple's iPhone 20th Anniversary Plans?

Apple has not officially detailed its plans, but 9to5Mac says the company will debut a new round of flagships in the fall of 2027 in celebration of the iPhone's 20th anniversary. The iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs in 2007, and the iPhone 20 Pro is expected to be the fully redesigned model Apple debuts to celebrate.

The 10th anniversary model, the iPhone X in 2017, set a precedent, and an earlier Yahoo Tech roundup says Apple is expected to skip the iPhone 19 name again for the 20th anniversary handset. Beyond the redesign, details such as pricing, final screen sizes, and the base iPhone 20 lineup have not been announced, so everything about the anniversary plans comes from reports and leaks until Apple makes it official.