The new gold-coloured iPhone 5s may have been pooh-poohed by some who were not swayed by its bling factor.
But many Singaporeans appear to have been smitten by the seemingly auriferous handset, which also comes in silver and grey.
A queue for the latest Apple release started as early as 7.45am yesterday at M1's Paragon outlet, with polytechnic student Melva Yip, 23, being the first in line. Local telcos SingTel, M1 and StarHub will start selling the iPhone 5s and the new 5c from today.
Mr Yip told My Paper that he hoped to get his hands on a gold iPhone 5s handset as it is a "nice change" from previous models, which he has in black, white and silver. This is the fourth time he has been first in queue for an iPhone, since the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010.
Gold iPhone 5s handsets were reportedly sold out in China and Hong Kong after pre-orders began on Tuesday morning.
By 3pm, seven others were in the queue at Paragon, including businessman Alfred Chong, 53, who wanted two gold iPhone 5s handsets - one for himself and the other for his daughter.
He said: "Some think the Apple legacy has expired, but I see the changes as a new beginning."
Netizens reported that the gold iPhone 5s was apparently snapped up within minutes when SingTel opened registrations of interest for the new iPhone.
While this could not be confirmed by SingTel, a spokesman for the telco said it is without doubt that the gold iPhone 5s model is the hottest in demand.
Apple retailers NuBox, iStudio and EpiCentre will start selling iPhone 5c handsets today.
Apple fans My Paper spoke to were less excited about the iPhone 5c, which comes in white, pink, blue, green and yellow.
"It looks less stylish and more fragile because it's plastic," said an 18-year-old student, who gave her name only as Ollivia.
