When the much-awaited iPhone 5S hit Singapore stores on Friday morning, hundreds of people dashed for the gold edition.

Within one hour of StarHub and M1 opening their stores at 8am, all the stock for the gold-coloured phone ran out. The iPhone 5S is also available in silver and black.

SingTel, which allowed customers to reserve a model of their choice online on Wednesday, confirmed on Friday that the gold model was sold out within four minutes of the telco taking online orders. These customers were also given time slots to pick up their sets at SingTel's launch event at Marina Bay Sands from 8am on Friday to Sunday. Some 10,000 customers were given appointment slots to pick up their phones.

Despite having secured an appointment and a set of his choice, accountant John Yap, 24, still showed up at Marina Bay Sands at 9pm on Thursday. "I want the gold edition and I don't want any hiccup," he said. "And I need to rush to work after that."