Fans of the iPhone started queueing in front of the Apple Store in Orchard Road yesterday morning, a day before the launch of the latest iPhones at 8am today.

By noon yesterday, a queue of roughly 250 people had formed in front of the store.

Earlier, at 11am, consumers hoping to get their hands on the iPhone XS and XS Max were ushered into barricades set up outside the store.

Each person, who can buy up to two phones only, was given a wristband which allowed him to leave the queue and return within 30 minutes to retain his spot.

First in line was Mr Le Thang, 20, who flew in from Vietnam the day before to queue for the launch. He arrived at the store at 6am yesterday and said he plans to buy two XS Max phones, one for himself and another for a friend.

"I queue every year for the iPhones but it's my first time being No. 1 (in the queue). I'm very happy," said the student, who will be flying home tonight.

His sister To Phuong, 28, was second in line. She flew in yesterday morning and joined the queue with luggage still in tow, to get two XS Max phones for herself and her mum.

They were part of a 44-member Vietnamese group called Dat Cay Da that had flown into Singapore to buy the phones.

Their members took up the first few rows in the queue, with some of them still carrying pieces of luggage.

Singaporean Haikal Putra, 22, who was queueing among the Vietnamese, said that he was the first person to arrive at the Apple Store at 1.30am yesterday but lost out on the No. 1 spot due to "a commotion" when getting ushered into the official queue.

The operation executive said he had already pre-ordered two XS Max phones online but decided on a whim to join the queue to get two more.

It was his first time queueing and he had hoped to be first in line.

"I'm keeping one phone for myself and selling the other three phones to make a profit," he said.

The iPhone XS retails for $1,649 (64GB), $1,889 (256GB) and $2,199 (512GB), while the iPhone XS Max retails for $1,799 (64GB), $2,039 (256GB) and $2,349 (512GB).