First-generation Apple iPhone Sells at Auction in US for $190,000

THE GUARDIAN: Device launched by Steve Jobs in 2007 with promise to ‘reinvent the phone’ sells for 300 times original price

Steve Jobs demonstrating the new iPhone at the Macworld conference in 2007, where he said Apple was about to ‘reinvent the phone’. Photograph: Paul Sakuma/AP
A 2007 Apple iPhone has been sold at auction for $190,372.80 (£145,416) – 300 times its original sale price.

The 4GB model , originally bought for $599, was still in its factory wrapping and was in exceptional condition, the auction listing said. The auctioneer LCG Auctions described the device as a “popular high-end collectible” and “exceedingly rare”.

The auction attracted 28 bids in total after an initial bid of $10,000.

LCG Auctions sold another first-generation iPhone for $63,356 in February. Another firm, Wright Auctions, sold a first-generation iPhone for $40,320 in March. » | Hibaq Farah, UK technology correspondent | Monday, July 17, 2023