iPhone owner discovers it's worth nearly 170,000 euros

• A fairly rare iPhone sold for more than $190,000 at auction
• This model has only 4 GB of memory, and that is quite unusual
• This is the very first iPhone model, which becomes more and more valuable over time

A new iPhone (first of the name) with four gigabytes of internal storage has just been sold at auction for the tidy sum of no less than 190,372.80 dollars, or the equivalent of approximately 170,000 euros at the current exchange rate. If this model is so expensive, it is probably because, beyond its age, Apple has only produced very few of them. Indeed, very quickly, most commercially available versions were available with eight gigabytes of memory or more.

As a reminder, the very first iPhone did not include either the App Store or 3G and only offered a small 3.5-inch touchscreen to its users, for a pixel density of 163 ppi. Pre-installed apps included Mail (inbox), YouTube and Clock.

A good investment, even today

Treating yourself to such a nugget perhaps represents a long-term bet for the buyer, because we see, when comparing it to other sales of its kind, that the value has particularly increased in recent months. And for good reason: in February, a model similar to the one making the headlines today sold for $63,000. The trend could therefore continue for years to come.

Nowadays, however, the new iPhones that leave the factory before arriving in the Apple Store are produced in the amount of several tens or even several hundred million units each year. Even with a manufacturing defect, it is therefore unlikely that such an investment will be worth it – at all if it is to benefit from it. On the other hand, if it is a question of reselling the device at the right time before purchasing the next model, it is aanother story.

Vision Pro: the rare gem of the next decade?

L’Apple Vision Pro, for its part, could only be produced up to four hundred thousand units by Apple's subcontractors, if we are to believe the latest estimates from specialist analysts. Potentially less than the first range of iPhones.

The mixed reality headset, however, costs a whopping $3,499 in the United States, and we do not yet know the price in France.