Rumors are swirling about how the iPhone 15 Ultra could be the most expensive iPhone ever made, with a price tag that could exceed $2,000 for top-tier storage options. But that’s a drop in the bucket for the person who bought an original sealed iPhone from 2007 at auction for over $63,000.
The 8GB iPhone belonged to cosmetic tattoo artist Karen Green, who was given the new phone by friends in 2007 to celebrate the start of a new job. Since she already had a brand new phone at the time, she never opened the box, and now the iconic handset has earned her enough to buy over 50 iPhone 14 Pros – $63,356.40 to be exact. This includes a 20% buyer’s premium, but excludes shipping, insurance and taxes.
The original iPhone launched in 2007 in two sizes, 4GB for $499 and 8GB for $599, with a 3.5-inch screen, no front camera, and just 16 apps. Of course, it quickly became a huge hit and one of the most influential electronic devices ever made, with several technologies that are commonplace today including pinch to zoom and pull to refresh.
The winning bidder, who outbid 26 others to win the lot, capped a flurry of activity on the final day, which saw the bid price rise by more than $30,000. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to use it to do much because AT&T’s 2.5G Edge network has since been shut down and it can’t be updated past iOS (iPhone OS) 3.1.3.
