Skip to main content

Indulge your nostalgia with a brand-new iPhone 3GS

Are you feeling nostalgic for the late 2000s or early 2010s? Well, if you’re in South Korea you can indulge yourself with the hottest smartphone of 2009. ET News reports that South Korean mobile carrier SK Telink has announced that it will once again sale the iPhone 3GS.

When it was first launched in the summer of 2009, the iPhone 3GS, like most iPhones, proved popular with customers and reviewers alike. It’s also an interesting piece of Apple’s history, as it was the last iPhone to feature a plastic casing before the company moved to the now-familiar glass and metal design.

Recommended Videos

Nostalgia aside, the major selling point of a decade-old smartphone is the price. Priced at 44,000 Won, which is roughly $40 U.S. dollars, the 3GS is the cheapest iPhone you can buy from any carrier. Of course, you shouldn’t expect much in the way of performance or app support; the 3GS only supports iOS 6. For those keeping track, we’re currently on iOS 11 with iOS 12 slated to go live sometime this fall. This means that you won’t get access to any of the latest features nor will the phone run every app found in the App Store. On the other hand, its low price may make it worth something to collectors as a novelty item.

Beyond the quaint factor, the phone can still work well as a barebones device and is capable of making calls, sending and receiving texts, and playing music. It can even browse the web, though it obviously won’t support 4G LTE service. So don’t get your hopes up about streaming your favorite shows on this mobile relic.

It’s also worth mentioning that these are not used 3GS phones, but unopened models. The carrier found a store of the phones in a warehouse and decided to put them back on the market. Since the phones have sat in a warehouse for nearly a decade, Telink will be testing the phones before putting them back on the market to ensure that customers don’t spend 44,000 won on an Apple-themed paperweight. If you’re still interested, you’ll probably want to act fast, since supplies are likely going to be limited.

Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A hidden iOS 18.1 upgrade made it harder to extract data from iPhones
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16 Plus.

Apple Intelligence was the most notable upgrade that arrived on iPhones with the iOS 18 series of updates. But it seems Apple reinforced the security protocols in the background that could prevent bad actors from gaining unauthorized access to iPhones that haven’t been unlocked in a while by their legitimate owner.

Earlier this month, 404Media reported that law enforcement officials are troubled by iPhones that are mysteriously rebooting. Citing a report courtesy of officials in Michigan, the outlet notes that the reboots are hampering the ability to access what’s stored on the phones through brute-force unlock methods.

Read more
I love this new iPhone camera feature. Here’s why I’ll never use it
The header image for the OuttaFocus column.

Ever since Apple introduced its Photographic Styles, I’ve mostly stuck to the Standard filter and then edited my pictures in the Photos app later if I wanted. With iOS 18, Apple added the ability to change Photographic Styles after taking a photo, and I decided it was time to experiment and play around with different Styles.

I quickly discovered I’d been missing out, but also why I'm never likely to use the feature again.
A frustrating choice

Read more
The iPhone 18 Pro may get a camera feature never before seen on the iPhone
A close-up of the cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Our iPhones are our primary devices to check the latest news, connect with friends on social media, and capture important memories through photos.

A significant camera upgrade is anticipated for the iPhone Pro series; however, this enhancement will not be available on the current iPhone 16 Pro or the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro series. Instead, the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to introduce a main rear camera with a variable aperture for the first time. This information comes from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who shared the details on Medium.

Read more