Original iPhone sells for record-breaking sum at auction
Published on Jul 18, 2023 at 2:54 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Jul 18, 2023 at 4:40 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
When the latest top-of-the-line iPhone drops, it usually retails for around $2,000.
However, someone’s just forked out a lot more than that for a box from the past.
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An original, unopened 4GB first-generation iPhone just fetched $190,372 at auction.
That means they paid more than 300 times the price of the smartphone when it was released.
Back in 2007, the original iPhone would’ve set you back $599.
Clearly, someone somewhere thinks it’s worth a lot more now.
Apparently, the 2007 iPhone belonged to a member of Apple’s original engineering team when the smartphone first launched.
The phone hit the auction block at the end of June, and was only expected to fetch between $50,000 and $100,000.
Clearly, the bidder was determined to get their hands on the phone.
Why? Due to its rarity.
When late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, the device came with a choice of 4GB or 8GB of storage.
The smartphone also featured a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser.
Consumers favored the 8GB model, and Apple discontinued the 4GB phone soon after, so those are rarer.
And because there have been so many iterations of the iPhone since its first release, the first model has become a real collectors’ item.
This sale smashed the record set in February this year when an 8GB iPhone from the same era sold for $63,356.
As the story goes, tattoo artist Karen Gren was given the iPhone when it was released but had just gotten a new phone so didn’t use it.
Instead, she decided to keep the gift in case it appreciated in value – and boy did it.
The funny thing is, she was told in 2019 it would likely be worth $5,000, so she was understandably overwhelmed when it sold for more than $60,000.
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Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
