iPhone with a USB-C port? A robotics engineer faced the challenge of modifying the Apple smartphone just to ditch the lightning cable provision in favor of the faster type of connection.
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: An iPhone 8 plus is held for a photograph on September 22, 2017 in London, England. Apple have today launched their new mobile phone the iPhone 8 and 8 plus in the UK today ahead of the iPhone X's release in November.
As per Apple Insider, the Cupertino giant still exclusively features the lightning cable for a single device from its product line up--the iPhone.
Even the latest series, the iPhone 13, still sports the connection type that the tech giant first unveiled in 2012, in the flesh of the iPhone 5.
Back then, the lightning port and cable were introduced as an upgrade from the aging 30-pin connector that iPods used to carry.
According to ScreenRant, lightning was considered an advancement back then due to its pioneering reversible design, as well as the faster transfer speeds that it boasted.
iPhone with USB-C
However, in this day and age, the iPhone seems to be left behind by other Apple products. Even the iPad mini recently made the transition to leave the lightning behind. Not to mention that smartphones from rival brands readily sport the USB-C provision.
That said, an iPhone owner Ken Pillonel decided to do it himself, stuffing a USB-C port for his iPhone X to replace the built-in Lightning provision of the device.
Pillonel even published a video on YouTube sharing the result of his modification that was a result of a couple of months of work.
In the YouTube video that goes with the title "World's First USB-C iPhone," he went on to claim that the USB-C on his modified iPhone X not only charges the battery but could transfer data as well.
It is worth noting that the man behind the iPhone X with USB-C is not just any Apple user. Pillonel flaunts a Master's degree in robotics that he got from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, along with his background in electronics.
iPhone with USB-C: How a Robotics Engineer Made One
Pillonel already wrote about his plan to take on a project that will replace the lightning on his iPhone with a USB-C on his blog post way back in May.
Pillonel shared his reason why he decided to go on with the challenging task, saying that everything that he owns uses a USB-C cable. So, the best route for him to take is to have an iPhone that does the same.
The robotics engineer started out by removing the Lightning port from the iPhone X. Then, he soldered a modified USB-C port that could fit in the phone's hole to a special circuit board.
Then, Pillonel had to make sure that his modification could fit inside the iPhone without ruining the rest of its internals.
iPhone and USB-C
Last Sept. 23, the European Commission filed a proposal that would require Apple and other smartphone makers to feature a universal USB-C port.
The legislation is expected to be implemented sometime in 2023 or 2024, but this robotics engineer made that happen in 2021.
Related Article: USB-C 2.1 Power Upgrade: 100W to 240W In Preparation for Higher Capacity Laptops, Computers
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Written by Teejay Boris
