At an auction in the US, the first edition, an unopened 4GB model of the 2007 Apple iPhone sold for USD$190,372.80 (approx. UGX697.4 million).
Not many of these were made at the time, leading the model to be considered the “Holy Grail” by iPhone collectors. The lot, run by LCG Auctions, attracted 28 bids in total at a starting bid of USD$10,000 (approx. UGX36 million) and sold at nearly 400 times its original price. The final fee includes the administration costs on top of the hammer price paid to the auction house by the buyer, known as a “buyer’s premium”. The buyer’s premium goes directly to the auction house and not to the seller.
LCG Auctions described it as “a popular high-end” and “red-hot collectible”, adding that two other factory-sealed, first-edition iPhones had sold at record values in the last year.
The website described the model as an “exceedingly rare, factory sealed, first-release 4GB model in exceptional condition. Virtually flawless along the surface and edges, the factory seal is clean with correct seam details and tightness”.
Originally retailing at USD$599 (approx. UGX2.19 million), the lot was expected to fetch in the region of USD$50,000 (approx. UGX183 million) to USD$100,000 (approx. UGX366 million) but managed to smash all previous records.
First released in 2007 by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the tech giant made the decision to discontinue the 4GB model just two months after it was launched, due to lagging sales.
Most people decided to purchase the 8GB model, which was launched at the same time, and gave users double the storage space, for just USD$100 more.
Every few months, some rare Apple memorabilia or relics of Jobs’ life and career sells at auction this includes a poem he wrote in a classmate’s high school yearbook, photos of him in college, and a business card from 1978.
In 2011 the Apple co-founder died at the age of 56 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Apple said he had been “the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives” and had made the world “immeasurably better”.
Notably, before his passing, Jobs had also introduced the iMac computer, the iPod, and the iPad to the world.
