As in previous years, the queue for the latest iPhone models started a day before the actual launch. But unlike previous years, the queue this year appeared much earlier.

The first customer showed up at 7.45am on Thursday at M1's Paragon store. Student Melva Yip, 23, said he was "too excited" to wait at home. "I might as well come to the store," he told The Straits Times.

Last year, he was also the first in line at Paragon, arrving at 3.30pm on the day before the launch of the iPhone 5.

Mr Yip, who is eyeing the gold edition of the iPhone 5S, said: "I heard that all the iPhone 5S gold models were snapped up within five minutes of SingTel starting to take orders online yesterday."

SingTel also allotted time slots for customers in a bid to cut down on the length of queues.

A SingTel spokesman would not confirm if the iPhone 5S gold models were snapped up within five minutes. But he said that SingTel closed its online booking within two to three hours on Wednesday.

Unlike SingTel, M1 did not provide time slots for customers who made online bookings. M1 also did not let customers reserve a model of their choice online.