iPhone X: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he won't be rushing to buy new phone on release date

'I'm happy with my iPhone 8 — which is the same as the iPhone 7, which is the same as the iPhone 6'

An attendee looks at a new iPhone X during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple's new iPhone X might have some important problems, according to one of its most important critics.

The new iPhone is expected to be in huge demand, and so little supply that people are likely to be waiting for weeks to actually get hold of it, if they're not in the queue outside stores. But at least one person won't be waiting in the queue – the co-founder of Apple.

Steve Wozniak, who built the company with Steve Jobs, has said that he isn't excited about the iPhone X. Mr Wozniak is usually a fixture of the queues outside Apple Stores in California, waiting to get his hands on the new phone – but this time is different, he said in remarks quoted by CNBC.

"I'd rather wait and watch that one. I'm happy with my iPhone 8 — which is the same as the iPhone 7, which is the same as the iPhone 6, to me," said Mr Wozniak. "For some reason, the iPhone X is going to be the first iPhone I didn't — on day one — upgrade to. But my wife will, so I'll be close enough to see it."

As well as his fears that the new phone will be mostly the same as the iPhone 8, with which it shares most of its components, Mr Wozniak shared a worry that the new features might not actually work properly.

The Face ID facial recognition technology might not work in the way that Apple is saying it will, he suggested. That feature is one of the two big headline features of the iPhone X – alongside its brand new screen technology – and so any problems would be significant.

Apple has acted to calm worries about that new feature, releasing details about how exactly the facial recognition works to make sure it will quickly see its owner but also keep the phone and their facial data safe.

Mr Wozniak's comments came just days before pre-orders for the new phone opened on 27 October. The phone goes on sale properly a week later – though it's not clear how many of them will actually be available on that date.