Apple is testing a display measuring roughly 6.96 inches for the iPhone 20 Pro Max, according to Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station, making it the first reported evidence that the 2027 anniversary iPhone could push into genuine 7-inch territory. The report is the first time a specific display size for the commemorative model has surfaced, and it comes just a month after Bloomberg reported Apple had begun ramping up work on the 20th anniversary iPhone lineup.
The current iPhone 17 Pro Max sits at 6.9 inches, so this prototype would add roughly 0.06 inches of diagonal screen space. Apple is not planning any display size increases for the iPhone 18 lineup due this September, keeping both the Pro and Pro Max at their current 6.3- and 6.9-inch dimensions. This means the 7-inch screen, if it makes it to production, is being held specifically for the 2027 milestone device.
What We Know About the Prototype
Leaker Digital Chat Station notes the screen ratio is the same as the current iPhone 17 Pro Max, suggesting a proportional scale-up rather than a change in aspect ratio. Whether this display actually ships in the iPhone 20 Pro Max is unconfirmed. Apple tests hardware constantly, and prototypes at this stage frequently get cut before production. That caveat applies to essentially everything in this report.
Apple last bumped flagship display sizes with the iPhone 16 Pro lineup in 2024, when the Pro grew from 6.1 to 6.3 inches and the Pro Max grew from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. The company appears to be following a similar pattern: hold sizes steady for a cycle or two, then push dimensions as part of a broader redesign.
The Bigger Picture for 2027
The display size rumor fits into an increasingly detailed picture of what Apple is planning for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary. The device is shaping up to be Apple’s most ambitious iPhone redesign since the iPhone X marked the 10th anniversary in 2017. Based on what has been reported so far, the iPhone 20 Pro Max is expected to feature:
- A quad-curved all-glass design where the display glass curves away on all four sides, concealing the metal frame during normal use
- An “equal-depth quad-curved” display developed in collaboration with Samsung
- Under-display Face ID, eliminating the final visible front cutout
- Haptic replacements for the Side, Volume, Action, and Camera Control buttons
- An A21 chip built on TSMC’s 2-nanometer process, shared with the second foldable iPhone also expected in 2027
The 7-inch display pairs logically with the quad-curved glass design. If the frame is hidden and bezels shrink further, Apple needs a larger panel to make the physical footprint feel justified. A phone that looks like a single slab of glass should probably have a screen to match.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has described the device as looking like “a single, uninterrupted slab of glass,” and Apple reportedly started ramping up development work last month. The 20th anniversary iPhone is expected to be incremental by design, banking Apple’s most significant hardware changes for 2027 rather than spreading them across multiple product cycles.
