u/YTAppleDemo

Back in 2017 during the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone, one that was covered in paint and stuck in a shadowbox sold for $50K USD.

I remember this being a relatively big deal at the time, and even receiving news coverage. But when I tried to search for this recently, it came up completely empty. While there are some images online and even a completely separate (still live) eBay listing for three painted original iPhones, I couldn’t find any details about this specific sale.

However, I was able to find some screenshots I personally took back in 2017 of the original eBay listing. Literally was looking for these for weeks and thought the whole thing may have been some kind of fever dream, until I finally found them. Figured I would re-share this piece of lost history!

This iPhone was used by the iPhone chip manufacturer Qualcomm to test the cellular modem of the iPhone. When plugged in, this unit only occasionally vibrates. A fully working unit will be shown in a YouTube video!

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the original iPhone, so it might be a good time to pick one up for your collection if you don’t already have one (in case the prices go up like during the 10th anniversary).

Images taken from an eBay listing. Never thought I’d see the day when people would start grading iPods like they're trading cards. What a weird time.

This iPhone is a Radio Frequency development unit, having debug I/O cables and a custom "book-like" housing. It runs NonUI (SwitchBoard) and is CPFM 01 (development-fused). I think this is one of the coolest looking prototypes!

During the lifecycle of the Apple Watch Demo (A1623) from 2015 - 2017, Apple Authorized Resellers signed an agreement requiring both the iPad and Apple Watch to be demolished when decommissioned. While a few survived, many did not.

This specific Apple Watch had its SiP (System in Package / Logic Board) damaged when it was smashed, making it irreparable and forever destroyed. If you look carefully at the photos, you can actually see the crack lines going through it.

This cloth was included as an accessory with brand-new iPhones at the time, hidden alongside the user guide paperwork. Unlike the Apple Polishing Cloth, this wasn’t $19 and was included for free with every iPhone purchase.

This iPhone runs CarrierOS and has DEBUG modem firmware. It has antenna testing holes and was manufactured 2 weeks before the official release date of the iPhone 7.

Originally, this iPhone was completely trashed. It had a badly swollen battery, which ended up ripping all of the screen cables, and it was literally thrown into a bulk lot of iPhones as a “free gift”. I replaced the battery and screen with genuine replacements and now it works great!

This iPod was manufactured in 2004, whereas production iPod shuffles were made in 2005. It’s in an unreleased storage configuration (256MB), missing regulatory markings, and has the text “DVT2C” engraved.

Sometimes a specific lot of prototypes will appear, and for weeks or even month long periods of time they're readily obtainable if you know where to look. But then once the stock dried up, they basically disappear. Years later, even seeing a single prototype unit from one of these lots can become extremely rare.