South Africans Left in Disbelief as Unopened iPhone Which Debuted in 2007 is Auctioned for Over R700k

• An unused and unopened first-generation iPhone was sold to the highest bidder at the LCG Auctions
• The device was released 15 years ago by Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs who referred to it as an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator
• The original price for the phone was $699 and was auctioned for more than 65 times its original price

One serious tech enthusiast forked out R700 000 for a first-generation iPhone from 2007 at an auction held recently.

The Apple device which has a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, and the Safari web browser, is said to have been untouched and unopened.

According to Business Insider, the phone cost about $699 (just over R10 700) back in 2007 when it was first released. Yikes, talk about a fortune even back then!

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The phone was listed on LCG Auctions on September 30, and the auction concluded Sunday. It was estimated to fetch $30,000 or more on the auction block.

Its price at the sale is more than 65 times its original price when the phone first came out. The late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs called it "an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator" all in one, 15 years ago.

Many South African social media users were left gobsmacked upon learning just how much the first-generation iPhone was auctioned for. Check out some of the interesting comments on Facebook below.

Wisani Leibnitz wrote:

“It is an artefact, worth the value for the historical display of where the present most powerful gadget began its revolution. The smartphone revolution. I still remember well when Steve said, a phone, an internet browser, a music device. Don’t you get it? It’s not three separate products but one device. Something along those lines.”

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Mphahlele Thakgatso shared:

“I remember when this Smartphone was released, it was the beginning of a toxic society. Social media boom. then Instagram, the Kardashians.”

Tracy Obeidepo replied:

“I'm gonna buy a new iPhone 14 Pro Max and keep it for 25 years. I think it's going to give me R 2 500 000.00.”

Leo Sithembiso Sibaya commented:

“There is something enigmatic about Apple products, the way our children are so mesmerized and thrilled by these products, it's incomprehensible. I suspect they use muthi these people there at Silicon Valley.”

Fiona Kemp asked:

“Now where did I leave my Nokia 3310??? .”

Alex T Moloi reacted:

“You gotta respect Steve Jobs for this revolutionary tech. His name shall live across the years. Immortal!”

Embarrassed man shares how he got scammed with fake iPhone

In another story, Briefly News reported that an embarrassed man shared how he got scammed with a fake iPhone, which made Mzansi hilariously console him.

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@ProfessorRugby also shared some videos of the inauthentic cellular device in a Twitter post, highlighting just how thorough and bad of a scam it was. The "iPhone" retailed at R6 000, inspiring the man to jump at the deal.

Sadly, this is how most scams work. When seriously expensive items retail for ridiculously low prices on the internet, they are often too good to be true. Some scammers, like the one this man was dealing with, went the extra mile.

Source: Briefly News