Buckle up, because the Apple rumour mill has just dropped a big one. A fresh Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman lays out three genuinely massive products all landing in late 2027: a 20th anniversary iPhone, a second-generation foldable, and the one that’s going to get everyone talking, AirPods with actual cameras in them. It’s a lot, so let’s go through it.
AirPods with cameras are finally a real thing (eventually)
This is the headline, and it’s a strange one. Gurman says the camera-equipped AirPods, code-named B798, are now scheduled for late 2027. If that feels late, it’s because it is. These were originally meant to arrive this year, and then they slipped.
The reason is the usual culprit lately, which is Apple’s ongoing struggle to get its AI house in order. The delay is tied in part to the company’s prolonged wrestling match with its artificial intelligence software, and the fact that it had to build visual AI models capable of recognising objects in the world around you. Which makes sense when you think about it. Sticking a camera in your ears is pointless unless the software can actually understand what it’s looking at. Worth flagging, as ever, that Apple’s timing here is described as “fluid”, so don’t go marking your calendar in pen.
The 20th anniversary iPhone is the real star
Now this is the bit I’m genuinely excited about. Headlining the 2027 lineup is a 20th anniversary iPhone, and it sounds properly different. We’re talking a nearly edge-to-edge display with curved glass that wraps around the sides of the phone. After years of Apple iterating on the same flat-edged slab, that’s a real design swing.
Gurman reckons it’ll come in two models, sized similarly to the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Internally they’re code-named V73 and V74, and they’ll directly succeed this year’s Pro and Pro Max. So this is the proper flagship, not a side experiment.
And yes, another foldable
Alongside the anniversary phone, Apple is also lining up a second-generation foldable iPhone for late 2027. No fireworks in the details here, but the fact that there’s already a follow-up in the pipeline tells you Apple is committed to the folding form factor rather than just dipping a toe in.
The chip story is quietly the most interesting part
Here’s where it gets nerdy, and I love it. Both the anniversary models and the new foldable will run on a 2-nanometer A21 chip, internally nicknamed Naxos. Then in 2028, Apple’s high-end iPhones are expected to jump to an A22 Pro chip that could use a wild 1.4-nanometer process. That’s the kind of relentless march down the process node that keeps Apple’s silicon ahead of basically everyone else.
What’s actually coming first
Before any of this 2027 madness, you’ve got the near-term stuff to look forward to. Apple will reveal the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max later this year, both powered by the A20 Pro chip. The standard iPhone 18, running the base A20, then follows in early 2027.
So the short version is this. The next year and a bit is fairly predictable, and then 2027 throws the rulebook out the window. Cameras in your AirPods, a wraparound-glass anniversary iPhone, and a second crack at foldables. If even half of this lands as described, it’s the most interesting Apple has been in years.
