Skip to main content

iPhone X to make a comeback, but only in international markets

The iPhone X was a hit when it was released back in 2017, but it was quickly killed off to make way for the newer versions of the phone released this year, the iPhone XS and the cheaper iPhone XR. However, flagging demand for Apple’s flagship phones coupled with supply chain issues have led to cuts in production orders for all of their newer iPhone models.

Apparently Apple had problems moving from offering one model of phone to offering three, as it made it difficult to estimate how many components would be required. The OLED screens made by company Samsung seem to have been a particular sticking point, with not enough screens available to Apple to manufacture the number of iPhone XS units that were required.

Recommended Videos

To handle this shortfall, Apple appears to have resumed manufacturing the older iPhone X, which is cheaper to make. However, the iPhone X won’t be back on shelves in the U.S. Instead, it will be made available on the international market. The cheaper iPhone X will likely be offered in India and China, where the high price of the iPhone XS has been a tough sell to customers leading to low sales numbers.

The cheaper iPhone XR has been popular in the U.S., where customers can save $250 by opting for the lower spec model but have a similar experience to those buying the full-fledged XS model. But in Japan the XR model has not been so well received. Japanese customers are said to have had issues with the iPhone XR’s lower quality screen, more basic camera, and slower data speeds when compared to the higher-end iPhone XS. Therefore, the iPhone X may also go on sale in Japan, where sales of the iPhone XS have been slower than expected, but the older iPhone 8 continues to sell well.

By making the cheaper iPhone X available internationally, Apple will both serve a large market outside of the U.S. and get around their supply issues with the screens in particular. But since Apple announced this month that it would no longer share unit sales of iPhones, our understanding of sales figures will have to be based on speculation and third party reports.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
This one iPadOS 26 feature has me excited for the iPhone Fold
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

Samsung is set to launch the seventh generation of its Galaxy Z Fold book-style folding phone this Summer, but its biggest rival is yet to show its folding phone hand. Apple has long been expected to unveil an iPhone Fold, and the latest rumors suggest that it will launch next year.

I’ve used almost every folding phone released globally, with some exceptions for extremely obscure ones. While I've always been curious what an iPhone Fold would look like, I was fairly certain that Apple shouldn't build it, as I wasn’t sure they could deliver on one necessary feature.

Read more
These three iOS 26 beta features are my favorite so far
The Liquid Design lock screen on the iOS 26 developer beta 1 running on the iPhone 16 Pro

For fans of the Apple ecosystem, it’s been an incredible week. Apple’s annual WWDC 2025 keynote revealed a whole new Liquid Glass design that’s unified across all its platforms. Also unified across all platforms is the numbering scheme, with iOS 26 designed to represent the year of release… plus one. 

The new platform doesn’t deliver one of the key things I asked for — multitasking, which is available on iPadOS 26 — but it does bring several new features that make the iPhone far more usable. 

Read more
Will my iPhone get iOS 26? Here’s every supported model
We've got the full list of iOS 26 supported devices - find out if you're getting the new iPhone update
iOS 26 features on a series of iPhone screens

Apple announced iOS 26 at WWDC 2025, and the new iPhone update comes with a fresh new 'Liquid Glass' look and plenty of features - and there are loads of iOS 26 supported devices, which is great news.

And no, you haven't missed a volley of updates since iOS 18 in 2024. Apple has skipped a bunch of numbers, so instead of giving us iOS 19 in 2025, we got iOS 26 alongside iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. In short, Apple's brought its operating system numbering into line. Nice.

Read more