Hundreds wait outside Naperville Apple store for new iPhone X

Wayne Dixon took his place in line around 6:30 a.m. Friday outside the downtown Naperville Apple store to join hundreds of others awaiting the release of the iPhone X.

It's hardly the first time Dixon has waited in a similar line: this is his 11th iPhone.

"I get a new phone every year," the Aurora resident said after picking up his phone. "I prefer to get mine on Day One. So far, I love it."

There were similar lines at Apple stores across the country and around the world, recalling the throngs that formed on the first day of iPhone sales on June 29, 2007.

One big difference is the price: the iPhone X starts at $999, double the $499 entry-level price of the first version. It offers new features such as facial recognition and an edge-to-edge screen.

During the first four days of availability online, the iPhone X got more than double the number of preorders than the last major iPhone revamp, the iPhone 6 in 2014, according to data from Slice Intelligence.

Apple has struggled to get the iPhone X to market on time and some analysts have warned there still may be too few iPhone Xs to meet initial demand.

None of that bothered Satya Patki of Naperville, who braved chilly temperatures to be among the first to get his new phone.

"It's exciting," he said. "I'm interested in seeing how the face ID works."

Keven Wells of Naperville said he wanted to share the experience of waiting in line with other iPhone fans.

"My phone stopped working a week ago and this one seems like the best one out there," he said.

Sierra Chapman of Woodridge, meanwhile, braved the cold and the line to get a new phone for her husband.

Excited by the facial recognition and new camera features, she said the phone's price tag is "worth every penny."

• Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.