A first-generation iPhone sold at auction for $190,373, nearly 380 times its original price of $499 when it went on sale in 2007.
A first-generation iPhone sold at auction for $190,373, nearly 380 times its original price of $499 when the flagship device went on sale in 2007.
LCG Auctions, which hosted Sunday’s sale, said the iPhone’s 4GB model was 20 times rarer than the 8GB model released at the same time for $599. This is largely because the 4GB model was discontinued two months after launch due to customer preference for the larger memory size.
“A new bar was set on Sunday night,” said Mark Montero, founder of LCG Auctions. “We are thrilled to be a part of this amazing record-breaking sale.”
It is the third original iPhone to be sold at record prices in an auction last year. An 8GB model sold for $63,356 in February and another 8GB model for $39,340 in October 2022. All were factory sealed in their original packaging.
The iPhone is one of the most successful electronic products in the world and helped make Apple the first public company with a market capitalization of $3 trillion. The Cupertino, California company reached the milestone 16 years after selling the first iPhones.
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