An unopened 2007 iPhone sold for more than $190,000 at auction.
A sealed first edition of the Apple smartphone went for a record amount after going under the hammer for $190,372.90 - nearly 400 times its original retail price, and including a “buyer’s premium”- at an online sale held by LCG Auctions, who called the device “a popular high end” phone and a “red-hot collectable”.
The house - which received 28 bids in total for the phone - described the lot as "exceedingly rare, factory sealed, first-release 4GB model in exceptional condition. Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness".
The phone - which the 8GB model soon replaced as it was double the capacity for only $100 more - was expected to go for between $50,000 and $100,000, but it wiped out all expectations when the time came for it hit the collector’s market.
The phone retailed for $599 amid its 2007 debut by the late Steve Jobs - who died in 2011 aged 56 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - and has since gone on to have many more editions like the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro.
Upon his death, the company he founded called Steve "the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives".
