Apple’s latest iPhones are just around the corner, but a seller on eBay is trying to cash in on nostalgia by selling a first-generation pre-production iPhone prototype from all the way back in 2006. The first iPhone officially got launched in 2007, so this is a rare peek at Apple history.
It’s so rare, in fact, that people are willing to pay upwards of $36100 (approx Rs 2555338) for it. The seller says they tried to auction off the iPhone in 2015 for $61100, but the sale didn’t go through for unknown reasons. While the new listing was live till date, eBay is currently showing an error page when trying to access it.
Apple has pulled iPhone prototypes from eBay before, so it’s possible the company managed to get it removed from the site. Even if the auction doesn’t return, the images and software paint a very interesting portrait of what the iPhone was before 2007.
First-Gen iPhone Details
The vendor claims that this iPhone was hand-made in Cupertino, California. This makes it especially unique since nearly all mass-manufactured iPhones are made in China. There are a couple of etchings on the back which indicate this is version 1.1.1 of the iPhone, plus a list of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GSM bands supported.
Instead of iOS, the iPhone appears to be running on multiple testing software versions including the MacBook’s OS X. There aren’t any neatly arranged small icons here, just big ones to view the battery status and Camera.
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This prehistoric iPhone even has a bell icon on the mute button. It’s apparently heavier than the original iPhone at 144.5g and features different battery specs. The unit is codenamed Project Purple since Apple hadn’t even fixed on the name iPhone at the time.
We have seen glimpses of ancient iPhones before. A video from last year showed off what Apple’s pre-iOS click wheel software, Acorn OS, looked like. You can try your luck at bidding for the 2006 iPhone here.