iPhone X UK release date, UK price and specs: Apple’s best phone yet

NEWS: The iPhone X might be in short supply, following a technical issue with Face ID. After a recent article by Nikkei Asian Review, it’s believed that Apple will only ship half the number of iPhone X units to its customers around the world.

If you’re intrigued by the iPhone X but put off by its sky-high asking price? Well, don’t forget about the iPhone 8 and it’s plus-sized alternatives – they’re both now available to buy in the UK if you’re ready to hand over your hard-earned cash.

What are the best deals and contracts I hear your cry? Well, unsurprisingly, none of the big players deviate from Apple’s initial SIM-free asking price. Currently, the iPhone 8 starts at £699 and the iPhone 8 Plus at £799.

As for contract deals, the best we’ve found is the iPhone 8 on a 24-month contract on Vodafone, with 26GB of data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts at £49 a month with a £90 upfront cost. The iPhone 8 Plus has an identical deal.

​Buy the iPhone 8 now for just £90 upfront and £48/mth from Carphone Warehouse

Buy the iPhone 8 now for just £37/mth and £125 upfront from Mobiles.co.uk​

Heart still set on the iPhone X? Well, you’re in the right place. here’s absolutely everything you need to know about the iPhone X, and the differences between all of Apple’s 2017 iPhones.

iPhone 8 and iPhone X: Everything you need to know

Apple’s 2017 iPhone has finally been shown off to the world, and it’s called the iPhone X. Pronounced “iPhone ten”, this isn’t the iPhone 8 – this is a new monster entirely. It’s the perfect phone to celebrate the firm’s ten-year anniversary. Yep, a decade has passed since the original iPhone – feeling old yet?

And Apple’s iPhone X is a phenomenal smartphone at that. Deviating from Apple’s staple design cues, it’s packed with plenty of fancy features new to the lineup, including a brand-new processor, a stunning 18:9 display, a set of dual rear cameras on the back, and Face ID security to top it all off.

READ NEXT: Best smartphones 2017

But – and please think of us poor tech journalists at this difficult time – the iPhone X isn’t the only new iPhone to launch this year. Not at all, there’s also Apple’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in the mix, too. They’re both much cheaper than their iPhone X alternative – thank goodness – but don’t offer the same fancy features.

Confused already? Don’t worry, we have a handy little iPhone 2017 guide at the bottom of this article.

Now that the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have been officially revealed, we’ve gathered all the important tidbits of information you need to know about each handset, including UK release date, UK price, specifications, design and new features.

iPhone X: What’s with the name?

In the past, the latest iPhone’s name hasn’t been a mystery – with the exception of the iPhone SE. Apple has always chosen to keep a chronological, numerical system with its iPhones. However, this year Apple tossed out the rulebook. With the ten-year anniversary of the iPhone, Apple has stirred things up and launched three phones at once. Blimey.

Those devices are: the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), as its special ten-year anniversary handset. Confused? Don’t be, we have a handy explainer letting you know the differences between all three in just a little bit.

iPhone X release date: When does the new iPhone X come out in the UK?

The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus all showed their faces on 12 September. At Apple’s 2017 press event, the firm announced that the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus would launch on 22 September 2017. That wasn’t long to wait, but the iPhone X launches a little later on 3 November 2017.

Itching to get your new iPhone, whichever you choose on launch day? Good news, then, as the iPhone X is available to pre-order from 27 October 2017 and the iPhone 8 / iPhone 8 Plus can be ordered already.

iPhone X UK price: How much is the new iPhone X in the UK?

Apple hasn’t deviated too much from its iPhone launch price since the iPhone 5s way back in 2013. Because of this, it was a safe bet that the iPhone X wouldn’t detour too far away from a rough £600-ish asking price.

Buy the iPhone and iPhone 8 Plus now from Carphone Warehouse or Mobiles.co.uk

That was, of course, until Apple decided to plonk all sorts of fancy new features on its flagship phone. The Apple iPhone X will set you back a lofty £999 come launch. Put that against Samsung’s similarly equipped Galaxy S8 Plus at just £629 and that price doesn’t quite seem worth it.

Don’t forget about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, however. Apple’s iPhone 8 will cost a cheaper £699 and its plus-sized alternative, the iPhone 8 Plus, will set you back £799.

iPhone X design: How different does the new iPhone 2017 look?

The iPhone X is a drastic departure from Apple’s handsets of old when it comes to design. For starters, Apple has gone the all-display route, following the footsteps of what Samsung and LG did with their flagship handsets earlier in the year.

This bezel-less display is a first for iPhone, and I’m pretty certain this is the main reason Apple jacked up its price. Display technology isn’t cheap, and when it’s as big as this, there was no doubt Apple would ask for a little more.

The iPhone X’s 5.8in 2,436 x 1,125 display is AMOLED, a first for Apple, supporting HDR with a pixel density of 458ppi. This is what Apple dubs its “Super Retina Display” while also incorporating its TrueTone technology – the same tech found in the firm’s recent iPads.

Because of this dominating display on the front, the physical home button is ditched, and with it the removal of the Touch ID scanner. Touch ID is gone forever, but Apple really wants you to use Face ID to unlock your phone instead. You better get comfortable with scanning your face if you want to use your fancy new iPhone X.

iPhone X specs: What’s new inside?

The first thing you’ll spot is that all-display screen. It’s the first thing you’ll notice when you take it out of the box, but there’s something even more arresting about it. The iPhone X’s display is an AMOLED panel with an 18:9 aspect ratio, making it the largest, most impressive screen on an iPhone ever. And like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, True Tone technology has made an appearance on Apple’s latest. This is something Apple uses on its iPad Pro range for improved colour accuracy and excellent contrast ratio.

That’s right – taking a stab at what Samsung has been doing for years, the iPhone X will benefit from AMOLED technology, with a greater dynamic range of colours and forgoing the need for screen backlighting, potentially saving power.

Internally, there’s an update to Apple’s own SoC chip in the new iPhones, with last year’s iPhone 7 running the A10 Fusion chip. The iPhone X runs Apple’s latest processor, the A11 Bionic, touting a 70% bump in multi-core performance over last year’s iPhone 7. That’s a pretty significant upgrade.

Camera-wise, Apple incorporates the same, if not similar, dual-camera tech found inside last year’s iPhone 7 Plus. We have two lenses: one wide-angle and the other telephoto, with both benefitting from optical image stabilisation (OIS) tech for seriously stable shots. A full specs breakdown is below:

• 5.8in 2,046 x 1,125 OLED display with 458ppi
• 64-bit 6-core Apple A11 Bionic processor
• 64GB and 256GB storage
• Dual 12MP rear-camera f/2.4 and f/1.8 with OIS
• 7MP front-facing camera
• Wireless charging
• No 3.5mm headphone jack
• Available in Space Grey and Silver

iPhone X: Features

The iPhone X doesn’t have a physical home button. Because of that massive display taking up all the space on the front, there’s no space for it, so don’t expect Touch ID to make an appearance either – 2017 is the year of Face ID.

Last year’s iPhone 7 was all about water resistance, something plenty of Android phones have touted over the past few years, and the new iPhones don’t deviate from that, all with an IP67 rating. Considering Apple is usually one to pick up popular Android features, the iPhone X also launches with wireless charging, the same with Samsung’s Galaxy S8. There’s no word yet on how much these wireless chargers will cost, but expect them to fetch a pretty penny.

iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: What are the differences?

So you’ve seen what the iPhone X brings to the table, but what about its cheaper 2017 alternatives: the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus? These are your bog-standard iPhones this year – sticking to roughly the same design as previous years, without the all-display front and keeping the physical home button and TouchID sensor under the screen.

Internally, the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are both running Apple’s latest A11 Bionic chip – the same used in the iPhone X. Again, there are some variations in the rear cameras with both flavours of the iPhone 8, with a 12-megapixel f/1.8 wide-angle lens working in tandem with another 12-megapixel f/2.8 telephoto lens on the iPhone 8 Plus, while the iPhone 8 is treated to a solitary 12-megapixel f/1.8 rear snapper.

There are also some slight differences in their screens. While the iPhone X is treated to a 5.8in, 2,436 x 1,125 resolution OLED display, the regular iPhone 8 comes equipped with a 4.7in 1,334 x 750 resolution LCD panel. The iPhone 8 Plus meanwhile, is equipped with a 5.5in Full HD LCD display.

And finally, here’s how the 2017 iPhones compare when it comes to asking price. At the bottom, the regular iPhone 8 starts at £699 for the 64GB model and £849 for 256GB of storage. Its plus-sized alternative, the iPhone 8 Plus, will set you back £799 for the 64GB model, and £949 for the 256GB version. That brings us to the iPhone X, which will cost you £999 for the 64Gb model, and £1,149 for 256GB of storage.

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