A rare and pristine example of the original iPhone from 2007 has fetched a staggering $190,372.80 at an auction, making it the most expensive iPhone ever sold.
The sealed 4GB model was part of a lot held by LCG Auctions. The coveted prize was described as the “Holy Grail” among iPhone collectors. For a better appreciation of how much it was bought, that’s around PHP 10.38 million.
The 4GB version of the first-generation iPhone was only available for a short period of time, as most customers opted for the more expensive 8GB model. Apple discontinued the 4GB model on September 5, 2007, just over two months after it was first released.
The auction house said the phone’s provenance was pristine, as the consignor was part of the original engineering team at Apple when the iPhone first launched. The phone was never activated and still had its original factory seal intact.
The auction house also noted that the phone had outstanding color and gloss, and that the labels on the reverse were correctly pristine beneath the seal.
The previous record for the most expensive iPhone sold at auction was $63,356.40, which was achieved by another sealed 8GB model in February this year. Another sealed 8GB model sold for $39,339.60 in October last year.
The original iPhone, which debuted on June 27, 2007, revolutionized the smartphone industry and became Apple’s most successful product ever. It featured a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, a 2MP camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a headphone jack.
It originally retailed for $599 for the 8GB model and $499 for the 4GB model, but Apple later dropped the prices to $399 and $299 respectively.
