The gold iPhone X was real, so why did Apple scrap the release?
During the incessant rumours last summer, Apple was rumoured to be launching a gold version of the iPhone X.
When it didn’t arrive, we just put it down to the myriad of things tipsters inevitably get wrong amid such a storm of speculation.
However, a recent leak suggests Apple had indeed planned to bust out the gold paint for its fanciest handset ever.
Related: iPhone X review – 6 months on
Apparently the company went as far as submitting the gold iPhone X to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States.
MacRumors found the image, which was probably filed in July.
The reason we’re not seeing this variant until now is because the FCC has a 180-degree confidentiality clause which prevented the images from being officially revealed.
Naturally this is designed to keep products secret until the manufacturers actually launch them. It’s now around six months since the iPhone X was announced, so here it is.
Apple ended up releasing the iPhone X in Space Grey and Silver, but the rumoured ‘Blush Gold’ version was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps, when crunch time came, Apple decided that the easily-scratched iPhone X casing would be exacerbated by a gold casing.
In our recently-updated review Max Parker pointed out: “[Colleagues] in the Trusted Reviews office, who decided against using a case, have paid the price; the stainless steel rim, in particular, is prone to scratches.”
Seeing as iPhone X fanciers missed out on the product red version of the iPhone 8 range, we’d suggest this theory might have some legitimacy.
Would you have purchased a gold iPhone X had Apple pulled the trigger back in September? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.