Rumors have long indicated that Apple is working on an all-glass new iPhone design for the 20th anniversary next year. But an analyst from Jefferies believes that device is no longer moving forward.

Today Wall Street firm Jefferies downgraded its Apple stock rating to “Underperform,” with analyst Edison Lee citing the possible cancellation of the 20th anniversary iPhone redesign as a big reason.

Mackenzie Tatananni, writing at Barron’s:

The downgrade hinges on the suspected cancellation of Apple’s all-glass iPhone. Although the project was reported to be in development as far back as 2025 and rumored to launch as early as 2027, Apple never commented on the speculation. However, the company quietly filed a patent application for a “six-sided glass enclosure” in 2019.

While Jefferies once viewed the release of an all-glass iPhone as plausible, Lee believes development has come to a halt. According to the analyst, supply chain checks suggest the project was cancelled due to low yield.

Lee views the decision as “a major setback to efforts to bring in higher-priced iPhones amid soaring memory costs.” Had it launched in September 2027 to commemorate the iPhone’s 20th anniversary, the device would have carried an estimated blended retail price of $2,060—higher than the average price of any previous model.

“More importantly, we believe the plan was to extend the all-glass features to future iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, further raising their average selling price and margin,” Lee wrote. He believes this would have been a crucial defensive move as the price of memory rises.

Lee also points to Apple’s AI strategy and rising component costs for iPhone 19 Pro as further reasons to downgrade the company’s stock rating.

It’s unclear from Lee’s note whether the analyst believes the entire redesign has been shelved, or only certain aspects of it.

For example, it’s been suspected for a while that Apple won’t be able to fully remove the Dynamic Island cutout next year. Thus, an “all-glass” display won’t be possible. But perhaps the rumored quad-curved design is still coming.

In any case, if Apple’s 20th anniversary design for the iPhone truly has been canceled, we’ll likely get corroboration from other reputable sources soon.

What do you make of this report on iPhone’s 20th anniversary design? Let us know in the comments.

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