iOS 26’s Liquid Glass Hints at Apple’s First Borderless iPhone
iOS 26 and its Liquid Glass Design could indicate a borderless iPhone. In Apple’s new design language, an experienced app developer sees references to future hardware with flexible OLED displays and all-round screens without edges.
Liquid Glass is preparing for new iPhone hardware
Apple’s new design language Liquid Glass in iOS 26 uses a translucent material that reflects and breaks its surroundings while it is dynamically transforming to focus on content. But behind the optical change could hide more than just a new appearance. An experienced iOS developer suspects that Apple will already create the software bases for revolutionary hardware innovations.
Craig Hockenberry By The IconFactory, when adjusting its apps for iOS 26, a striking design rule discovered: Controls and containers should never touch the edge of the screen. This requirement reminds him of the Safe area insets, which Apple introduced 2017 with iOS 11-at that time its purpose seemed unclear until the iPhone X with emergency and home indicator appeared.
Developer discovers suspicious design rules
“It is like at that time at the Safe Area Insets in iOS 11: It was not clear why it was needed for the iPhone X to have an emergency and home indicator,” explains Hockenberry. This parallel suggests that Apple will again create software bases for future hardware innovations.
The Safe-area insets were originally introduced as abstract programming concepts before their practical necessity became apparent. Apple has a long history in implementing software features years before the corresponding hardware. Among other things, the support for retina displays appeared in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011, although the first MacBook Pro with retina display was only launched in 2012.
All-round display without edges in sight?
Hockenberry’s theory says that Apple works on devices where the display moves seamlessly into the physical edge. Flexible OLED technology could blur the distinction between pixels and frames and enable a “wraparound” display.
This technology would also require Safe Area Insets on the vertical edges of the device – just like the iPhone X on the horizontal edges. Apple described Liquid Glass as its “widest” design update and emphasizes the semi-transluzent functions such as revised widgets and notifications. The emphasis on “concentricity” and control over UI elements that interact with the physical hardware support Hockenberry’s assumption.
iPhone anniversary 2027 as the goal
Reports of Korean media speak Already from Apple’s plans for “Four-Edge-Bending” displays that are changing around all sides of the device. Bloomberg and The information have confirmed similar rumors about a “mostly made of glass consisting of a glass, curved iPhone without recesses” for the 20-year anniversary of 2027. The original iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 and revolutionized the smartphone industry. A borderless iPhone for the 20th anniversary would symbolically underline Apple’s continuous innovation. Samsung and other manufacturers are already experimenting with foldable and curved displays, but Apple could set a new standard with a completely borderless design.
Challenges for other platforms
While the concept appears sensible for touch-oriented devices such as iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, Hockenberry sees problems with Mac or Apple TV. Liquid Glass not only comes to iOS 26, but on all Apple operating systems, including Ipados 26, MacOS TAHOO 26, Watchos 26 and TVOS 26. The new design extends across all Apple operating systems for the first time to create more harmony, while the unique properties of each platform should be preserved. Alan Dye, Apple’s Vice President for Human Interface Design, emphasized the deep integration of hardware and software as an Apple basic principle.
