Apple iPhone X gold colour variant revealed by FCC filing

Apple iPhone X images in a new gold colour variant has been leaked in a document by Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The unreleased gold iPhone X has a gold stainless steel frame with a gold glass back, similar to the iPhone 8. It has a ‘A1903’ model identifier, while the current iPhone X models have identifiers ‘A1865’, ‘A1901’, and ‘A1902’. The FCC document comes courtesy of 9to5 Mac, which reports that “this really does seem like the third color of iPhone X”. The document is dated from September last year and released in April.

To recall, a report on Japanese blog Macotakara has previously suggested that Apple could launch a new ‘blush gold’ colour variant of iPhone X to help the company increase sales of the device, though an exact launch date is unclear at this point. Separately, designer Benjamin Geskin had said Apple has already started the production of “blush gold” colour variant of the iPhone X. Apple iPhone X is currently sold in white and space grey colour shades.

Meanwhile, according to an analysis of average sales prices (ASPs) by UBS analysts Steven Milunovich and Benjamin Wilson (via Business Insider), Apple’s 2018 flagship iPhone X could be the company’s most expensive smartphone yet. It could come with a price-tag of $1,100, which is about $100 more than the current iPhone X price ($999).

The report adds that Apple will stick to its “three-pronged strategy” to persuade its loyal customers to pay for its new products and make available cheaper devices for first-time customers. “Milunovich and Wilson outlined the strategy in a recent research note: “Cascade top-of-the-line features down the price curve (screen size, camera, etc)”, “Move premium customers up the price curve with moderately higher prices”, “Establish higher price bands based on new features while tapping into lower-end markets with older devices”. Upon launch of 2018 iPhone X, the price of entry-level iPhone SE could fall as low as $300.

Apple iPhone X 2018 will launch in three variants this year. Apple’s iPhone X for 2018 or iPhone 11 as some are calling it, will likely make a debut in September 2018, going by the past trends. Apple could announce a new supersized iPhone X Plus with a 6.5-inch display and an updated version of iPhone X with the 5.8-inch OLED display like the current iPhone X. The third iPhone model will be a budget variant of the iPhone X and will come with features like an edge-to-edge display and Face ID.