Apple releases 10th anniversary iPhone X with edge-to-edge screen and Face ID - with prices starting at £999

Most eye-wateringly expensive iPhone ever will start shipping on 3 November

Apple has released not one, but two iPhones, alongside a new Apple Watch with the option of mobile connectivity, but the highlight of last night's launch in New York was the release of the 10th anniversary iPhone, called the iPhone X.

The release follows months of leaks, culminating in a major leak on Monday that revealed almost all there is to know about Apple's big September launch.

The iPhone X (pronounced iPhone 10, according to Apple) is Apple's first smartphone to pack an edge-to-edge screen, but with a notch cut out at the top of the screen to accommodate a speaker, front-facing camera and facial recognition sensors.

The smartphone's so-called 'Super Retina' display measures 5.8in and features a resolution of 2,436x1,125, making it the highest resolution on an iPhone to date. It also features Apple's True Tone display tech and, much like the new Apple TV, supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content.

This screen sits inside a new 'all-glass' chassis, similar to that seen on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

This will no doubt look smart, but will also require a case to prevent shattering if you so much as think of dropping it. Nevertheless, Apple claims this is the most durable glass to feature on a smartphone yet. At £999, it's unlikely anyone will be tempted to test exactly how durable it is.

There's also the same A11 Bionic processor under the hood. This six-core CPU is divided into two low-performance, high efficiency cores for running humdrum tasks, and four high-performance cores for more demanding tasks.

The regular cores are 25 per cent faster than the previous A10 chip, and the high-performance cores are up to 75 per cent faster than the A10 SoC, according to Apple. It is also paired with Apple's first homegrown GPU, which offers 30 per cent more performance than the Imagination-powered graphics of the A10.

Naturally, given the phone's all-screen front, there's no physical home button. This means that Apple, as expected, has dumped Touch ID functionality, replacing it with 'Face ID' facial recognition.

This is enabled by a number of sensors on the front of the phone (housed in that notch) and the A11 chip's built-in neural engine. Apple claims that it will even work in the dark and low-light conditions - and if you change your appearance, such as grow a beard, get a haircut or put some iron-mongery through your nose.

It's pretty secure, too, according to the company, which claims that there's a 'one in a million' chance of somebody 'spoofing' your face.

Apple has also introduced a new swiping up gesture to go 'home' on the iPhone, which is also used for multitasking on the iPhone X. The lock button on the side of the handset can now be used to fire up Siri.

As expected, on the rear of the iPhone sits a vertically-aligned 12MP dual camera, comprising of dual telephoto and wide-angle lenses. There's also a new Portrait Lighting mode for taking selfies, and optical image stablisation built-in.

Wireless charging is included, with the iPhone X supporting the same Qi wireless charging standard as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which means customers will be able to use third-party charging accessories. Apple gave a sneak peak at its own AirPower wireless charging mat coming next year, which will be coming next year.

There's also been a boost to battery life, with Apple claiming two hours more battery life than the iPhone 7 before it.

The iPhone X will be available in Space Grey and Silver. Pricing starts at £999, but the smartphone won't start shipping until 3 November. Full availability and pricing details are available here.

Apple also on Tuesday unveiled the lesser-specced iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which will be available from £699.