A first generation iPhone going up for auction hopes to fetch $50,000

New York CNN—

An unopened first-generation iPhone from 2007 is up for auction on Thursday – with an estimated value of $50,000.

Originally on sale for $599, the first iPhone offered early Apple adopters a 3.5-inch screen with a 2-megapixel camera, as well as 4GB and 8GB storage options, Internet capabilities and iTunes. It had no app store, ran on a 2G network, and was exclusive to AT&T’s network.

Cosmetic tattoo artist Karen Green received the 8GB version and never broke the seal, according to her appearance on daytime TV show “The Doctor & The Diva” in 2019. A reviewer from the show rated the phone at $5,000 at the time.

Since then, another unopened first-generation iPhone like Green’s has auctioned off for more than $39,000 in an LCG Auctions listing that closed in October. LCG Auctions is also listing Green’s phone, with the auction opening at $2,500.

Green and LCG Auctions did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The iPhone has changed the way billions of people around the world communicate, make payments, do their jobs, take photos, and even wake up in the morning. It killed dozens of industries (camcorders, MP3 players, flip phones) and brought many more to life.

Speaking at Apple’s annual Macworld Expo in 2007, then-Apple boss Steve Jobs opened his presentation with, “We’re going to make history together today. Jobs called the new smartphone a “revolutionary mobile phone” that will feature an iPod, a telephone and what he called an “internet communicator”.

“It’s bad out there today,” Jobs said of mobile web browsers. “It’s a real revolution to bring real web browsing to a phone.”

Apple enthusiasts will have until February 19 to bid on the tech relic.