At auction, a first-generation iPhone (2007) sold for over $39,000.
The first iPhone, presented in 2007 by Steve Jobs, profoundly upset the smartphone market and, more generally, new technologies. Some people may feel that it would be difficult to assess the value of such a historical object. That was without counting a recent auction where it sold for over $39,000.
Over $39,000 for the first iPhone
Indeed, as explained CNBC, a person paid exactly $39,339.60 for a model of the very first iPhone that was still sealed. With the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to just under 39,900 euros.
For comparison, the first iPhone launched in the US at the time for $599 — which today would be around $850 with inflation. 15 years later, the model thus sold sees its initial value multiplied more than 50 times.
LCG Auctions, which organized this auction, does not hide its satisfaction. Its founder, Mark Montero, issued a press release. “We expected the bidding for this item to be heated and it did not disappoint as a handful of avid and seasoned collectors bumped the price from just over $10,000 on Sunday afternoon to this record amount on Sunday evening“.
A smartphone with 8 GB of storage
Note that the opening bid, meanwhile, was set at $2,500. This iPhone bought for more than 39,000 dollars boasted of being kept in a “expectant state» with labels «intactunder the plastic seal. The device was presented as being brand new.
This first-generation iPhone therefore sold for a four-figure sum. The smartphone, however, only has a 3.5-inch screen, 8 GB of storage or a 2-megapixel camera. We are very far from its latest successors, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.
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