Unopened Original iPhone Sells for $35,000 at Auction

A sealed original iPhone made from an early production run has sold for $35,000 in a recent auction.

unsealed iphone 35k
Based on the box design, this ‌iPhone‌ was among the initial batch of original ‌iPhone‌ models sold in the first few months after the ‌iPhone‌ launched in June 2007, as the Home Screen does not include an iTunes Store icon. The iTunes Store app was initially not included on the ‌iPhone‌ and wasn't added until a few months later with the release of ‌iPhone‌ OS 1.1 in September 2007. The ‌iPhone‌ box design was subsequently updated to add the icon.

The listing doesn't offer any clues on the condition of the actual ‌iPhone‌ inside the box, but given it's still sealed, it should be in brand-new condition.

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Top Rated Comments

ProfessionalFan Avatar
39 months ago
The iPhone 14 Pro is going to be dirt cheap in comparison. Everyone can stop complaining about that price
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mcsnee Avatar
39 months ago
And that's only part of the price... the buyer still has to sign up for a Cingular account!
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
39 months ago
I bought an iPhone 2G off Ebay a couple months ago for about $100 and downgraded it to iPhone OS 1.0. At one point I thought I had bricked it. But after playing with it for a few days, the novelty wore off. But its nice to have the first one and see how far we have come. It still accesses Google just fine. Apple should bring back cover flow. For some reason, I couldn't get it to sync with my PowerBook G4, but it works just fine with an old Dell laptop running Windows XP:

MacRumors content image

MacRumors content image
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rainshadow Avatar
39 months ago
And… inside… is a lead brick. The original purchaser swapped out the phone and sealed up the box for resale nearly 2 decades later.

Prove me wrong ?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carlsson Avatar
39 months ago
I have a well used iPhone 3GS with dead battery. It could contain a secret message from Steve Jobs. Any takers? ;)
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bpa1093 Avatar
39 months ago
Still one of the best designs, in my opinion. There was a “Wow” factor, holding one in your hand.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)