Sources: Apple to unveil three iPhones this fall, including two revamped models and new high-end model with curved OLED display; high-end model could be delayed
Apple is testing a revamped iPhone with an all-screen front, curved glass and a stainless steel frame alongside upgrades to the current models.
Context & Ripple Effects
The curved-glass, all-screen iPhone has been an open secret since KGI's 2016 report flagging a 5.8-inch AMOLED model with wireless charging for 2017. Bloomberg's sourcing now confirms Apple is actively testing that device — all-screen front, curved glass, stainless steel frame — alongside refreshed versions of the current phones.
The notable wrinkle is the delay caveat: the flagship may slip past the fall window. That matters because the three-model structure itself is what endures — the same shape reappears in Bloomberg's 2018 OLED lineup report and in Apple's later multi-year redesign roadmap.
First-order effects
- Apple's fall lineup shifts from a two-model refresh to a three-tier structure, with a premium OLED flagship priced above the revamped standard models — and its launch timing now carries explicit slippage risk.
Second-order effects
- OLED panel and stainless-steel chassis suppliers gain a new premium-tier channel whose volumes hinge on whether the flagship ships on time or slips, while the two refreshed models carry the predictable fall revenue load if it does.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the three-iPhone cadence becomes structural rather than one-off: subsequent cycles repeat it (Kuo's 2020 forecast of three models with 5G) and Apple's later planning extends it into a multi-year redesign sequence, decoupling the flagship's schedule from the annual refresh.
The trend: Apple is institutionalizing a three-tier annual iPhone lineup in which a redesigned OLED flagship anchors the brand while refreshed mid-tier models de-risk the fall shipping window.