An unopened, factory-sealed iPhone from 2007, the first year the Apple smartphone was available, has sold for $39,339.60, according to LCG Auctions. The 8GB model originally sold for $599, or roughly $860 adjusted for inflation.
The bidding really got heated in the final day, as is often the case with online auctions. The top bid was just $10,446 going into Sunday, but a flurry of last-minute activity saw the price climb considerably before the online auction’s close.
How did they know it was never opened? Apparently the factory seal on the plastic has the “correct seam details and tightness.” Seriously, that’s how LCG Auctions describes it.
This factory sealed, first-release example is in exceptional condition. Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness. Labels on the reverse are correctly pristine beneath the seal. All original - no aftermarket stickers or UPC labels on this one. Brand new, never activated.
What’s the difference between an iPhone from 2007 and the kind you can purchase in 2022? For starters, there was no AppStore, so you were stuck with the apps that originally came with the phone, including YouTube, Safari, and Weather.
New iPhones also have considerably more space, with the smallest amount of storage current at 32GB and maxing out at 1TB. The original iPhone came in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB models.
And while the first iPhone did come with Maps, there was no GPS tracking, so the only way to find your route was to type in both your current address along with the destination address—something this humble writer remembers doing on a trip to Detroit with his first iPhone.
There was no Siri, either, so you had to actually look at the directions in the app without depending on a virtual assistant giving you turn-by-turn directions. Can you even imagine? It’s a wonder people ever found their destinations.