iPhone — 20th Anniversary (Announcement)

What this countdown tracks

The 20th anniversary of the iPhone — Saturday, January 9, 2027. On that date in 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone in his Macworld 2007 keynote at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The device went on sale on June 29, 2007. Apple is expected to mark the 20th anniversary with an Apple Park exhibition, special-edition hardware, and the iPhone 19 (or whatever the September 2027 release is named) cycle.

About this anniversary

Steve Jobs's January 9, 2007 Macworld keynote is one of the most-watched product unveiling speeches in commercial history. Jobs walked on stage and announced "three revolutionary products… a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device" — only to reveal that all three were a single device: the iPhone. The keynote ran for 90 minutes and laid out the iPhone's combination of capacitive multi-touch, full Mac OS X-based software (later iOS), the visual voicemail innovation, the in-browser web (rather than WAP), and the Cingular (later AT&T) US-exclusive carrier deal.

The iPhone went on sale on June 29, 2007 in the US for $499 (4 GB) or $599 (8 GB) on a two-year AT&T contract. By the 10th anniversary in 2017, Apple had sold 1.2 billion iPhones. By 2027 cumulative iPhone sales are expected to exceed 3 billion, with iPhone revenue alone (excluding services) representing the majority of Apple's $400+ billion annual revenue. The device has gone through approximately 20 generations by 2027 — from the original iPhone through the iPhone 19 series in autumn 2027.

The 20th anniversary in 2027 falls during the Tim Cook era of Apple and within Apple's broader 50th-anniversary year (Apple was founded April 1, 1976; the 50th was 2026). Apple has historically marked iPhone milestones with special-edition hardware: the iPhone 6 launched in 2014 (7th anniversary, near the start of the "iPhone Plus era"); the iPhone X launched in 2017 (10th anniversary, with edge-to-edge OLED display, Face ID, and TrueDepth camera) was explicitly framed as the 10th-anniversary iPhone. The 20th-anniversary release in autumn 2027 is widely expected to coincide with a major hardware redesign — likely a foldable iPhone, possibly with a new product family naming convention.

What to expect

Apple's 20th-anniversary observances are expected to centre on three threads. First, the autumn 2027 hardware cycle — the iPhone 19 (or rebranded successor) is widely expected to feature the foldable iPhone variant that Apple has been developing since around 2022, with an autumn 2027 ship date. Second, the Apple Park Visitor Center and the Apple Park archive are expected to host a major iPhone-history exhibition. Third, a 20th-anniversary-edition iPhone — possibly a high-end variant with archival design references to the original 2007 device — is widely speculated.

The January 9 anniversary itself is unlikely to be the focus of Apple's commemorative communication. Apple's pattern of restraint on anniversaries — combined with the fact that the iPhone went on sale in late June 2007 rather than January 2007 — points to a multi-event anniversary year with the principal release in autumn 2027 and softer thread-of-recognition through the year.

The broader tech industry is expected to mark the 20th anniversary as well. Google's Android, originally announced in November 2007 in response to the iPhone (the first Android device, the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1, shipped October 2008), has its own 20th anniversary in late 2027–2028. Major retrospective programming on the smartphone era is expected from CNET, The Verge, Wired, and the Computer History Museum.

Past iPhone milestones

• November 3, 2017 — iPhone X launched (10th-anniversary phone with edge-to-edge OLED, Face ID)
• January 9, 2017 — 10th anniversary of the announcement; Apple ran a "Designed by Apple in California" coffee-table book and a small in-store exhibit
• September 9, 2014 — iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus launched (introduction of the larger-form-factor era)
• October 14, 2011 — iPhone 4S launched two days after Steve Jobs's death; the first Siri-equipped iPhone
• June 29, 2007 — original iPhone goes on sale at $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB)
• January 9, 2007 — original iPhone unveiled at Macworld 2007 by Steve Jobs

How to follow

Apple's newsroom (apple.com/newsroom) publishes corporate communications. The Apple Park Visitor Center and the Computer History Museum (Mountain View) host iPhone-related exhibitions. Major Apple-focused publications — 9to5Mac, MacRumors, AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, Six Colors, The Verge, Bloomberg's Apple coverage — provide deep coverage. Walter Isaacson's biography Steve Jobs and Brian Merchant's The One Device remain standard references on the iPhone's origin.

Related countdowns

The iPhone 20th anniversary aligns with Apple Computer 50th anniversary 2026 and Apple's annual product cycle: Apple WWDC 2027, Apple September event 2027, Apple WWDC 2026 and Apple September event 2028. See also Voyager 50th anniversary 2027.

FAQ

When is the iPhone 20th anniversary? Saturday, January 9, 2027 — the 20th anniversary of the unveiling. The device went on sale on June 29, 2007. What was the original iPhone's launch price? $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB) on a two-year AT&T contract. Will Apple release a 20th-anniversary iPhone? Apple has not announced anything but the autumn 2027 release is widely expected to feature the foldable iPhone Apple has been developing since around 2022, possibly with a 20th-anniversary edition. Where can I see the original iPhone? The Computer History Museum in Mountain View has the original iPhone in its permanent collection; the Apple Park Visitor Center has Apple's archival exhibits.