Turns out Apple was definitely working on a gold iPhone X. Was. Past tense. The FCC has to test devices before they’re released to be sure that each device doesn’t interfere with other electronics. They don’t reveal any information about these devices until they’re no longer confidential, 180 days after the review is initiated. Apple was preparing to release the iPhone X around 180 days ago, and the prototype they sent to the FCC was a gold iPhone X.
Now that 180 days have passed since Apple gave the iPhone X to the FCC, we can see photos of it. It’s gold, a finish Apple hasn’t released. Due to the time of year, it’s possible that we’ll never see the release of a gold iPhone X. Still, we have these photos of the beautiful device to look at what could have been.
Apple’s gold iPhone X looks beautiful, even in these unflattering photos. The gold steel and glass look like a realistic shade of gold. However, that could have been a problem for Apple. The difficulty of producing a gold iPhone may have been too costly. In fact, that may be why they didn’t release a (RED) iPhone X. It may be just too difficult to colorize the steel band and the glass back.
The next iPhone, set to replace the iPhone X, will likely go back go an aluminum design to reduce costs. The unpopularity of the iPhone X may have taught Apple that they can’t continue to sell smartphones at the $1,000 price point. That means less expensive materials and manufacturing processes. It also means the iPhone may finally get a splash of color again, something I think Apple desperately needs.
Source: Chris Welch, The Verge