Rare first-gen iPhone sells for record $190,000 in auction

A pristine first-generation iPhone has set a new record on the auction block with a staggering sale price of $190,372.

The factory-sealed 4 GB device was sold on Sunday, bypassing the phone's original retail value of $599 in 2007 by more than 317 times.

Initially listed at the end of June, the iPhone was only anticipated to fetch between $50,000 and $100,000.

This extraordinary sale obliterated the previous record set in February when an unopened first-generation 8 GB iPhone was auctioned for $63,356.40. In October 2022, another factory-sealed 8 GB original iPhone garnered $39,339.60 in a separate auction.

The recently sold iPhone holds a unique distinction as it belonged to a member of the original engineering team at Apple during the iPhone's inaugural release.

LCG Auctions founder Mark Montero expressed his surprise at the outcome, stating, "Despite the extensive worldwide media exposure our previous sales received and the hundreds of contacts we've had with consumers who thought they had a factory-sealed original iPhone, this is the only 4GB factory-sealed version to surface." Montero added, "Based upon our recent record-setting sales and the fact that the 4GB model is probably 20-times rarer than the 8GB version, we are not surprised it established a new record price, but surpassing the $190,000 mark was quite surprising."

The first iPhone, unveiled by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2007, offered two storage options: 4 GB and 8 GB. Equipped with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser, the iPhone quickly became a revolutionary device. Consumers primarily favoured the 8 GB model, leading Apple to discontinue the 4 GB version shortly after its initial release, making it even more elusive for collectors.