Apple Is Now Allowed to Sell the iPhone XR in the U.S.

Just over three-weeks ahead of its anticipated October 19th pre-order date, Apple on Thursday morning was granted the U.S. Federal Communication Commission’s (FCCs) official certification to begin “licensing and/or selling” its upcoming iPhone XR handset in America.

Apple’s iPhone XR product landing page explicitly stated, in tiny font, at the very bottom of the page, that the “iPhone XR has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. iPhone XR is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.”

The declaration is still there, in 4-pt. font, as of this write-up — but given the handset has now passed through the FCC’s testing with flying colors, it’s assumable that Apple will remove that statement sooner or later.

iPhone XR, which is widely anticipated among analysts to come out as Apple’s best-selling new iPhone model this year, was widely expected to pass through FCC clearance, though the Cupertino tech-giant is known for waiting on the agency’s approval until as late as possible to avoid the likelihood of product leaks.

iPhone XR Specs & Preorder Date

Much like its premium OLED-equipped counterparts, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Apple’s iPhone XR features many of the same components and aesthetics — including the beastly A12 Bionic CPU, a TrueDepth camera with Face ID security, and a sprawling edge-to-edge display. 

In lieu of higher-end components like advanced OLED displays, dual-lens cameras and a durable stainless-steel construction, however, iPhone XR will feature a 6.1-inch LCD display (lacking 3D Touch functionality), a single-lens camera around back like the standard iPhone 8, and will retain the 7000-series aluminum construction of previous models like iPhone 7 and 8.

While it lacks some of the more premium bells and whistles of its counterparts, Apple’s iPhone XR is still very much a premium device. And even better is that it’s being offered at a remarkably low price of $749 — $250 cheaper than an entry-level iPhone XS — in a variety of vibrant and exciting colors including Black, White, Red, Yellow, Blue, and Coral.

iPhone XR will be available to order directly through Apple or select wireless providers beginning Friday October 19th, with a 64 GB version running $749 and the 256 GB configuration costing $899.