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The most recent iPhone is the iPhone 14, launched last September, but it all started way back in 2007, and the very first Apple-made smartphones launched that year are now worth slightly more than their original asking price of $499.
An original, unopened iPhone 1 is now at the auction (opens in new tab) (through AppleInsider (opens in new tab)), and is expected to fetch as much as $50,000 (that’s about £41,480 / AU$72,235 at the current exchange rate). That’s not a bad return on an investment after 16 years.
This is, according to the auction listing, “one of the most important and ubiquitous inventions of our lives,” a device that “changed the smartphone industry forever” and is now “widely regarded as a blue-chip asset among high-end collectors “. .
The gadget of the century
The auctioneers point to two previous auctions for similar items approaching the $40,000 mark, and it seems the price is likely to rise over the years. As of this writing, the highest bid for the item stands at over $11,000, with the auction running through next Thursday.
It’s clearly one of the most important gadgets of the century – perhaps the gadget of the century – but it doesn’t hold up as a phone today: the screen is a tiny 3.5 inches from corner to corner (with a resolution of 480×320 pixels). ), and the storage is up to 16 GB. On the back is a single 2MP camera.
Our review of the first iPhone is still available to read online, and while we liked the intuitive interface and “dazzling screen,” we were disappointed by the lack of 3G connectivity (remember?) and the camera with fixed focus.
Analysis: Clean out your drawers
Seeing that the price of an Apple iPhone 1 has increased a hundredfold over the course of 16 years shows how iconic this particular smartphone is. So while it’s worth looking at home in your drawers for old and vintage tech, fortune from your Google Pixel 2, for example.
It’s not just age, but manufacturer that matters, and a device’s place in history, when it comes to making valuations of older technology. Collectors seem to love Apple, and you may recall that an Apple-1 computer built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak fetched a whopping $400,000 back in 2021.
Condition is also critical – you won’t get close to your classic appliances if you’ve used them for a few years before putting them back in the box. If you plan to invest in technology for the long term, keep your electronics sealed in their original packaging.
It’s hard to predict what the next must-have piece of technology for collectors might be, but slot machines and Apple devices are probably good bets – if you can afford it, it might be worth getting an Apple AR/VR headset. or a Nintendo Switch 2 tucked away somewhere, if and when they eventually launch.