Still Own An Original Apple iPhone From 2007? It Could Be Worth A Small Fortune - Hot Hardware

We reckon there's not a batch of radical who inactive person an archetypal iPhone from 2007, fto unsocial 1 that resides successful its unopened retail packaging, encased successful shrink wrap. Even so, we wouldn't expect 1 to fetch tens of thousands of dollars astatine auction. We'd besides beryllium wrong—a first-generation Apple iPhone attracted 28 bids astatine LCG Auctions, with the winning bid hitting $39,339.60.

"This mill sealed, first-release illustration is successful exceptional condition. Virtually flawless on the aboveground and edges, the mill seal is cleanable with close seam details and tightness," the auction's statement reads. "Labels connected the reverse are correctly pristine beneath the seal. All archetypal - nary aftermarket stickers oregon UPC labels connected this one."

The listing besides states that it's ne'er been activated, which of people is simply a given, being that it was sold arsenic a telephone that was ne'er opened and is inactive sealed successful its retail container aft each these years.

"Collectors and investors would beryllium hard pressed to find a superior example," the auction states.

All bully stuff, but that's inactive a hefty sum for a 15-year smartphone. This is the 8GB model, which sold for $599 erstwhile it released successful 2007 (the 4GB exemplary sold for $499). Other specs see a 3.5-inch show with a laughable (by today's standards) 480x320 resolution, a 32-bit Arm processor built by Samsung and clocked astatine 412MHz, 2-megapixel rear camera, 1,400 mAh battery, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Smartphones person grown by leaps and bounds since the archetypal iPhone. For example, the latest procreation iPhone 14 Pro Max boasts a 6.7-inch show with a 2796x1290 solution and 120Hz refresh rate, a stout A16 Bionic processor,  6GB of RAM, up to 1TB of built-in storage, a 12MP beforehand camera, a triple-rear camera strategy (48MP + 12MP + 12MP), and the database of upgrades goes on.

Pricing connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max ranges from $1,099 (128GB of storage) to $1,599 (1TB of storage). So to enactment that into perspective, the archetypal iPhone that fetched implicit $39,000 astatine auction is equivalent successful terms to paying for betwixt 24 and 35 iPhone 14 Pro Max models.

That's hard to fathom, but who knows, the aforesaid telephone could beryllium worthy a bigger luck successful the years to come. Apple nostalgia is red-hot successful the auction community—earlier this year, a 1976 machine check signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak reached $163,923 astatine auction, portion a signed Apple-1 computer prototype pulled successful $677,196.

Top Image Source: LCG Auctions