Sealed 2007 iPhone Sells for $39,000 at Auction

Someone paid a lot of money for one of these.
Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET

Apple released its iPhone 14 lineup last month, but on Sunday someone dished out $39,339.60 for an original, mint iPhone from 2007, in its original package. LCG Auctions had the sealed 8GB iPhone on the block, and the winning bid exceeded the auction house’s expectation of $30,000.

“One of the most important and ubiquitous inventions of our lifetime,” the item description read. “This factory sealed, first-release example is in exceptional condition. … Collectors and investors would be hard-pressed to find a superior example.”

Bidding opened at $2,500 and ran from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16. 

The original iPhone launched on June 27, 2007, for $599. Without taking inflation into account, the $39,339.60 auction sale is increase of more than 65 times its original price.

With $39,000, the winner could also have bought any group of these Apple products.

• 19 Mac Studio desktops
• 24 Apple Studio Displays
• 32 MacBook Air laptops with M2
• 35 iPhone 14 Pro Max phones
• 48 Apple Watch Ultra models
• 97 Apple Watch Series 8 models
• 65 iPad Air tablets
• 156 pairs of AirPods Pro 2

For more Apple news, check out CNET’s guide to iOS 16, take a look at iPhone settings to change and find out how to send messages through your iPhone’s Notes app.

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