When does the new iPhone come out? Apple’s likely iPhone X and iPhone 8 release date revealed

Actually getting hold of one will be a different matter entirely

Andrew Griffin
Tuesday 12 September 2017 13:49 BST
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A person holds a red iPhone product at a Apple store in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, March 25, 2017. Picture taken March 25, 2017
A person holds a red iPhone product at a Apple store in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, March 25, 2017. Picture taken March 25, 2017

The iPhone X is about to be announced. But it won't actually be available until a long time after.

Apple usually waits more than a week to actually put the new products on sale and it's almost certain that it will do the same this time around.

Click here for all the latest news on the iPhone X. And follow the latest news on Apple’s big announcement here.

Thankfully, the company has kept to a fairly regular schedule when releasing its phones, which means we can have a pretty good guess about when they'll actually be making their way to shelves.

If it keeps to that, the phone will be available for pre-order on Friday, 15 September. It'll then actually go on sale exactly a week later, on 22 September.

Despite some rumours the contrary, the premium iPhone X looks set to go on sale at the normal time, and on the same dates as the iPhone 8. But actually getting hold of one will be another matter.

Multiple reports have suggested that the various new manufacturing techniques needed to make the futuristic new phone are holding back production. That in turn means that supply will be constrained come release day, and there might not actually be any available by the time they appear in shops.

It wouldn't be the first time that happened. Last year, Apple released the iPhone in a new Jet Black colour for the first time – and supply constraints meant it was very difficult to get hold of.

Indeed, that might happen too. In addition to the problems making the iPhone X, Apple is planning to release it in a brand new, coppery "Blush Gold" colour, which is even more constrained. That might be in such short supply that it might not be released until later, and could not be mentioned at all during the launch.

The iPhone 8 is expected to bring with it some design changes, like a glass black, but will look a lot more like the iPhone 7. As a result, Apple are likely to find it far easier to make the phone, and so there'll probably be plenty of them when they hit the shelves.

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