Youtuber buys original iPhone for $40,000 just to unbox it

2023-04-22 18:42:00

MKBHD
Not a collector’s item: Youtuber auctioned sealed original iPhone for $40,000 – just to unpack it

Technology .youtuber MKBHD once in his life wanted to unbox an original iPhone

© MKBHD

The auction made headlines: At the end of March, a first-generation iPhone was auctioned for $40,320. Now it turns out: It wasn’t a collector. But the well-known Youtuber MKBHD.

When something is popular and rare at the same time, there are almost always collectors willing to put good money on the table. That was also the impression at an auction in March. A first-generation iPhone changed hands at the Wright auction house for a lot of money. The special feature: The almost 16-year-old device was still sealed. Now the buyer has surprisingly revealed himself. And unpacked the device in a public way.

In his new video, evocatively titled “I Spent $40,000 Unboxing a Sealed Original iPhone,” tech youtuber MKBHD does just that. Marques Brownlee, as his real name is, wanted to unbox an original again, he explains in the clip. He therefore accepted the high costs. Then he actually pulls out the knife.

Rarer Fund

Brownlee is well aware that this is a real rarity. He was looking for a working device for an earlier video of each iPhone model. “And every year it got harder.” In the end he did find three functional devices from the first generation, but they weren’t packed. “A device that really no one has touched. It’s hard to find,” he admits.

Not even the protective film is a guarantee that it is actually new. Several competitors, such as Apple YouTuber iJustine, had previously bought supposedly unpackaged original iPhones for thousands of dollars. Only to discover that there was a used device in the sealed box. “The difference in price between a used unit and a broken one is so huge, it’s well worth the foil, the heat gun, and the hassle,” explains Brownlee.

Original iPhone unpacked

His excitement is correspondingly great when it comes to unpacking his auction iPhone. He paid $40,320 at the auction. Since a result of between 40 and 60,000 dollars was expected, the price is still quite low. Brownlee slowly works her way through the layers of packaging that protect the original seal. Only after almost seven minutes of his clip does the big moment come: carefully cut open the film with a knife. “That’s when the $40,000 value is wiped out,” he jokes. It’s not actually the device that’s worth it. But “this 16-year-old film. It smells something,” he comments with a slightly distorted face.

When he then takes the device out of the box and removes the protective film, the excitement is palpable. “This is new territory for me, even though it’s old,” says the tech fan like a little child. In fact, Brownlee is unlikely to have owned an iPhone when it came out. When the device came onto the market in 2007, today’s YouTube star and multi-millionaire was only 13 years old.

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trip to the past

And so, on his little journey into the past, Brownlee also learns a lot about what was different back then. In addition to the device and the cables, a charging station and a microfiber cloth were also part of the scope of delivery. But there was no SIM card tool: because the iPhone was only available from specified providers – AT&T in the USA and Telekom in Germany – the SIM card was pre-installed. The included folding instructions with example images also amuse the Youtuber visibly.

He is now certain that it is a real iPhone that has never been unpacked, reports Brownlee after a cut the next day. The mere fact that the film was so old already speaks strongly for it. Even more remarkable is that the device is still equipped with the first iPhone operating system ever, iPhoneOS 1.0. “It’s extremely rare,” he notes.

In the end, he looks very satisfied with his self-made gift. “It’s now worth dramatically less than I paid for it. But that’s okay,” he grins. And then to think about it for a moment. “Hopefully I don’t regret it at some point. Thanks for watching.”

Those: MKBHD

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