The most expensive iPhone is $40,000 (and it’s not even 5G)

From September 9 to October 16, 2022, LCG Auctions organized an auction in the United States for various technological products. In the middle of the lots, a model in a blister in perfect first generation iPhone condition. Starting price: $2,500.

“Collectors will be hard pressed to find a top quality copy”
LCG Auctions

Is it the attraction of vintage, a touch of nostalgia or a bet on the future, the fact remains that in two weeks the original amount has been more than exceeded to reach almost 40,000 dollars on sale . As a reminder, the iPhone 2G was sold for 600 dollars when it was released.

iPhone 2G: a model from another time

Fifteen years ago, we marveled at this first iPhone, a technological gem powered by Apple. However, time is cruel: less than twenty years later, it is totally outdated in each of these characteristics.

For the price of dozens of brand new iPhones, a buyer recently purchased a first edition of Apple’s game-changing device https://t.co/421mPdOMo7

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 20, 2022

The model’s RAM peaks at 16 GB, compared to the more than 250 GB of the iPhone 14. Apart from a Wi-Fi connection, it will be difficult for you to surf the Web with a smartphone released 5 years before the launch. 4G, so cannot connect to most mobile data networks. On the screen side, the definition was only 480 x 320 pixels and we were content with 128 MB of RAM…

No App Store and no selfies!

For applications, we will go back. No App Store on this iPhone 2G, which only appeared the following year, the user only had preinstalled tools at his disposal. No selfies either, Apple’s first front cameras appeared in 2010 on the iPhone 4. And that’s not all: MMS didn’t exist back then, the wallpaper can’t be personalized and Siri was only a project in the Cupertino laboratories at the time.

Also read: The smartphone match: Pixel 7 vs iPhone 14! Fight!

What use does the mysterious new owner of this iPhone have in store for it? Impossible to say. That said, this anecdote allows us to take a look at the giant strides made in mobile technology in recent years.