After sticking with the same basic exterior iPhone design for three years, Apple finally broke the mold in 2017 with at least one totally overhauled model. Compared to the less exciting iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the new iPhone X has a better screen, better cameras, and a premium price. But the rollout hasn’t been as smooth as Tim Cook and his team might have hoped.
Summer 2017
Apple (AAPL) had problems over the summer obtaining a sufficient supply of iPhone X’s new OLED screens from manufacturer Samsung, according to reports.
Sept. 8, 2017
Spoiling some of Apple’s surprise at its iPhone unveiling event, a few days beforehand someone leaks a copy of the company’s mobile software. The code discloses that the premium model will be called the “iPhone X,” not the “iPhone Edition,” “iPhone Pro” or “iPhone 10th Anniversary Special Edition,” as some had guessed.
Sept. 12, 2017
Apple unveils its rumored premium model at a starting price of $999—or $300 more than the new entry level iPhone 8. But pre-orders won’t start until late October for a Nov. 3 delivery date. And Apple SVP Craig Federighi suffers an embarrassing on-stage failure of the new facial recognition unlocking feature. Apple later said the phone was working as designed, automatically locking out the feature after a freeze was accidentally triggered by other Apple employees.
Sept. 14, 2017
An online poll by web site 9to5Mac finds that under 30% of respondents are happy with Apple’s decision to carve out a small notch on the front of the iPhone X’s screen that protrudes into some photos and other apps.
Sept. 20, 2017
The X model is hit with further production delays, which could put deliveries in painfully short supply for early adopters, Raymond James chip analyst Christopher Caso writes.
Sept. 27, 2017
Apple’s suppliers are having trouble making enough of two key modules needed to power the new facial recognition security feature, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Nov. 3, 2017
First deliveries expected. Likely outcome? Apple still makes a bunch of money.
A version of this article appears in the Nov. 1, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline “The iPhone X’s No Good Very Bad Launch.”
