- Kyle Chua
First-Gen iPhone Sells for Nearly $200,000 at Auction
Updated: Dec 18, 2023
You could just be sitting on a small fortune on the off chance you have an unopened, first-generation iPhone lying around somewhere.
According to The Guardian, a first-generation Apple iPhone was recently sold at an auction in the U.S. for a whopping US$190,372.80 – more than 300 times than the device's original retail price. The 4GB iPhone was factory-sealed and in pristine condition, with auctioneer LCG Auctions describing it as a "popular high-end collectible".
LCG added that it's "exceedingly rare" to find an unopened first-generation iPhone, making the item a "holy grail" of sorts among collectors.
The auctioneer also notes that the original owner of the iPhone was part of the Apple engineering team behind the device when it first launched.
The auction reportedly attracted a total of 28 bids after an initial bid of US$10,000.
While it's not the first first-generation iPhone to be sold at an auction, the recent sale holds the record for fetching the most amount of money. LCG sold an unopened, 8GB first-generation iPhone for US$63,356 in February, while Wright Auctions, another auctioneer, sold one for US$40,320 in March.
"Based upon our recent record-setting sales and the fact that the 4GB model is probably 20-times rarer than the 8GB version, we are not surprised it established a new record price but surpassing the $190,000 mark was quite surprising," explained LCG Founder Mark Montero in a press release.
The 4GB model was discontinued shortly after launch due to slow sales and was replaced by an 8GB model.
The original iPhone was first revealed by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld in San Francisco California, on 9 January 2007. It's credited as the device that turned the tech world on its head, essentially redefining the features and capabilities that users could expect from a modern smartphone. It also became Apple's best-selling product, with succeeding generations helping propel the computer maker as among the world's most profitable companies.
An unopened, first-generation Apple iPhone was recently sold at an auction in the U.S. for a whopping US$190,372.80 – more than 300 times than the device's original retail price.
Auctioneer LCG Auctions said it's "exceedingly rare" to find the original iPhone in pristine condition, making the item a "holy grail" of sorts among collectors.
While it's not the first first-generation iPhone to be sold at an auction, the recent sale holds the record for fetching the most amount of money.