iPhone X: Apple offers only Space Gray and Silver options at release date, despite rumours of other colours

'Blush Gold' is presumably on the way

The two new iPhone Xes is displayed during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple's recent phones have taken to launching in a plethora of different colours and finishes. But the new iPhone X is far more utilitarian.

The new phone – which Apple says is its biggest step forward since the first iPhone – will come in just two colours: Silver and Space Gray. There'll be no choice about the finish, either, with all featuring a glossy look as a result of the glass that wraps all the way around the phone.

That's despite rumours of different colours and finishes in anticipation of the event. The reduced options appears to be the result of Apple's slower manufacturing process, which has also pushed back the release date until much later in the year.

Until now, the iPhone 7 had been offered in six different finishes, including the Product Red version that came out halfway through the cycle and the two different blacks that were unveiled at the launch event. That Product Red option has since been dropped, even on the iPhone 7.

Though both of the iPhone X's colours were available for the iPhone 7, they have changed slightly. The new glass back – added to enable wireless charging – makes both colours appear a little different, and the Silver option now has a black front and bezel, unlike the white found on many versions of the iPhone 7.

(That change is presumably because there is very little bezel there now, with a display that goes almost the entire way over the front of the screen, and so that what bezel there is matches the deep blacks of the new display.)

There had been rumours before the event that Apple would introduce a new coppery colour called "Blush Gold". Given that it was referred to in Apple's own code and many of the leaks had been accurate, that colour was presumably on its way but dropped before launch – and may indeed be on its way at a later date.

If Apple did opt to postpone the new colour or colours, it's probably because the new phone is more difficult to make and supplies are running low. Unlike the iPhone 8 and the two models before it, the iPhone X uses an entirely new design, and as a result is likely to be slower to put together.

Even with just those two options, the phone appears to be difficult for Apple to make. It will have a delayed release date – not being available until 3 November – and rumours suggest that there will be very limited supply even when they arrive, meaning that they might not be readily available until the new year.

As well as the two colour options, Apple is also offering the phone in only two sizes. The company will sell it for £999 (or the same in dollars or Euros) for 64GB of storage, or £1,149 for 256GB of storage.

The iPhone 8 – the X's less premium sibling – comes in three colours. Apple is drawing particular attention to its pinky Rose Gold colour, which has also changed hue slightly as a result of the new glass backs that go across the line.