No X-factor: Apple’s new smartphone delayed in Spain

THE Spanish launch of Apple’s most expensive smartphone, the iPhone X, has been delayed by at least a month.

It comes as the tech firm’s most expensive handset, with prices starting from €1,159, sold out within ten minutes upon being made available for pre-order at 8am this morning.

The initial allocation of devices is due to arrive on November 3, but Spanish buyers face a delay of “four to five weeks” according to a message received when placing their order.

The news follows industry rumours that Apple has axed 50 per cent of planned launch production for the new phone.

A report in the Nikkei Asian Review, the world’s largest financial newspaper, claimed that only 20 million, rather than an initially projected 40 million, units will be shipped before the end of 2017.

The issue is allegedly related to an issue with the phone’s facial recognition system, a hotly-anticipated new feature.

Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this week said that the company is “working as hard as possible to make as many as possible.”