Most expensive ‘original’ Apple iPhone sold for Rs 1,29,80,000, breaks multiple records

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with top of the line storage retails for Rs 1,89,900 on Apple India’s online store. However, a rare 16 year old original Apple iPhone has fetched around Rs 1,29,80,000 ($158,000) in an auction, breaking several records. Until now, the world’s most expensive original Apple iPhone was sold at a record price of $63,000, which now has been surpassed. What makes the 16 year old record breaking Apple iPhone so rare is the storage. For those who don’t know, 16 years ago the Apple iPhone was originally available in two storage options - 4GB and 8GB. The 4GB storage model was discontinued by the company as the 8GB model was far more popular and the company also introduced a higher 16GB capacity variant.

There are a very limited number of the original Apple iPhone with 4GB storage were made and to find one with a sealed box is a very rare thing. The owner of the $499 original Apple iPhone with 4GB storage was part of the original engineering team when the ‌iPhone‌ launched.

The new record-breaking Apple iPhone was put for auction by LCG Auctions in June and at that time, the auction house was expecting the rare iPhone to fetch around Rs 82 lakh. "Based upon our recent record-setting sales and the fact that the 4GB model is probably 20-times rarer than the 8GB version, we would not be surprised if it establishes a new record sale price," LCG Auctions founder Mark Montero said last month.