An unopened first-generation iPhone is expected to sell for around $50,000 at an upcoming auction. If it is able to sell for that price point, it would far surpass the final sale of another auction where a 4 GB version of the first-generation iPhone was sold at $39,339.60. Although it is technically a far cry from the latest iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models, the ludicrous prices of these unopened first-generation iPhones show how much of an impact the original had.
Despite the iPhone being initially seen as a big risk for Apple to take in 2007, it has grown in popularity to the point where Americans would go into debt to stay up to date with the latest version. To say iPhone is a ubiquitous piece of culture today would be an understatement given how it revolutionized how people use the internet and communicate with others.
Still, the idea that the original could go for as high as $50,000 because it is factory-sealed can be seen as absurd to many. According to CNN, the specific model being put up for auction is the 8 GB version and was done so by tattoo artist Karen Green. While it may not be able to run any modern apps or games, and did not even have the App Store at launch, an appraiser on the show The Doctor & The Diva valued the phone at $5,000 during an episode from 2019 where Green appeared with the phone to figure out what it was worth.
The opening bid for Green's original iPhone is at around $2,500, but with more than two weeks until the final sale occurs, the device has plenty of time to reach the $50,000 it is now approximately valued at. This approximate price point was likely reached partially in response to the iPhone that sold for nearly $40,000, and if this current estimate is correct, there is little doubt that any future auctions for factory-sealed original iPhones will continue to climb in price.
While the functionality of iPhones continues to grow with the release of software updates and new models, including allowing users to pair Nintendo controllers, the original remains a cultural touchstone for the revolution it started in communication and technology. Due to its age, however, it is still a relic from a different era and much of the value seen in models like Green's first-generation iPhone is only because it has somehow managed to remain perfectly preserved for over a decade.
Source: LCG Auctions (via CNN)