The phone features wireless charging, an infrared camera and special hardware for facial recognition, which will replace the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone. The home button found on previous iPhones is also gone, and users will instead tap the device to wake it up.

Read: Apple Launches $999 iPhone X in Bid to Regain Innovation Lead

But in an embarrassing moment for Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi, the face ID unlocking did not work on his first attempt during the on-stage presentation.

The phone, which is priced at $999 and ships on Nov. 3, as well as the holiday shopping season that will follow are the most important for Apple in years.

The screen on the iPhone X is about the size of the current iPhone 7 plus, though the phone itself is smaller. It features richer colors thanks to a new technology called OLED that other vendors such as Samsung are also rolling out.

Apple also introduced the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, which resemble the iPhone 7 line but have a glass back for wireless charging.

The new phones feature Apple's first proprietary graphics processor, which provides greater speed, improved cameras and some features for augmented reality apps.

The cheapest iPhones have 64 gigabytes of memory, up from 32 gigabytes in previous models, and will sell for $699 and $799.

REUTERS