The iPhone they are an object of desire and each new version generates more frenzy than the previous one. His most recent model, the iPhone 14inspired a campaign that invited to exchange a kidney for one of these devices, but so far it has not sold as expected.
The one that did sell (and expensive) was a first generation iPhonepreserved in its original packaging since its launch in 2007. The piece was auctioned by LCG Auctions and reached a price of almost $40,000 (about 800,000 Mexican pesos at the current exchange rate).
The most expensive version of its new model, the iPhone 14 ProMax of 1 TB, it is priced at 1,599 pesos in the United States and 41,999 pesos in Mexico. That means the buyer paid the equivalent of nearly 25 units of the firm’s latest and most expensive smartphone.
The Apple’s first smartphone It is quite a collector’s item. Thanks to the fact that it was kept for 15 years, the specimen “is in exceptional condition”, they describe on the auction page. They note that it is “factory sealed” and “virtually flawless on the surface and contours.”
“Collectors and investors could not find a better example. Its relevance and rarity make up a winning formula for this sought after collectible”, they indicated from LCG Auctions.
The price of the collectible iPhone skyrocketed at the last minute
Bidding was open from September 30 to October 16. The starting price was $2,500 (about 50,000 MXN) and began to rise as the deadline approached. Five hours before closing, the maximum bid was around $11,000. During the last hour, its price shot up from 16,000 to $39,339 when it was sold to an anonymous buyer.
All the offers were made privately, so the identity of the interested parties or the winner is not known. What the history does show is that there were 28 bids, of which 13 were made on the last day of the auction. The final figure beat the second best offer by just over $6,500.
The device, presented at the time by the very Steve Jobs, was available in two versions, one with 4GB and the other with 8GB of internal storage. It had a 2 megapixel camera and a full touch screen, something disruptive and innovative that would change smartphones forever. Shortly after, it was recognized as the invention of the year by the magazine Times and became Apple’s most successful product to date.
The first iPhone only included 16 apps preinstalled including web browser, text messages, calculator, weather and clear, telephone, among others. It did not offer the possibility to download or install new apps, since the app store.
The piece that was sold at auction was 8GB of storage, the most advanced version of that year. When it was released in 2007, it cost $599, which means that the original owner recovered about 65 times his investment. In Mexico it cost between 5,000 and 6,000 pesos, which today would be about 12,000 MXN today, due to inflation.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.