You Might Not Need To Get An iPhone X After All

Patience could serve tech-starved smartphone fans well. CNET is reporting that anyone interested in the bells and whistles of the iPhone X but not the huge price tag can potentially wait it out to get all its new features for less money next year.

Using reports from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and notes obtained by MacRumors, CNET notes that 2018 could bring three new iPhone models, all with full-screen designs and Apple's new TrueDepth cameras. Two of the rumored releases even have OLED screens (with one lower-priced LCD option), just like the iPhone X. And for those interested in FaceID, the lack of a home button on all three proposed models means that the new tech will likely be integrated, too.

According to MacRumors, the phones would be available in a 5.8-inch, 6.1-inch, and 6.5-inch models. The iPhone X is 5.65 inches and the new iPhone 8 Plus measures 6.24 inches. That means the new phones would all be larger than the iPhone X (which starts at $999) and feature the biggest phone yet, surpassing the huge Plus models currently on the market.

The site adds that these phones would be aimed at people unwilling to pay a premium for the X model and whatever phone builds on that phone franchise (X-2?). Priced between $649 and $749, they would be more in line with the iPhone 8's pricing.

"We believe the major hardware difference in the two new OLED models is size, in a bid to satisfy various needs of the high-end market," Kuo wrote in his report. "The new TFT-LCD model will differ significantly from the OLED models in hardware and design specs. The primary selling points of the TFT-LCD model may be the innovative user experience of an integrated full-screen design and 3D sensing with a lower price tag."

It's unclear if these new phones would be the next generation of iPhone X (and X Plus) or be a separate model entirely. Kuo insists that the next generation of Apple phones should roll out without the delays associated with the X. So with all the supply chains in place and a year to get everything right, people shouldn't have a problem getting these new phones. Just expect the usual amount of chaos that comes with any new Apple drop.