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play A robot engineer replaced his iPhone with a USB-C port, forward and backward
Sina Technology News on the afternoon of October 12th, Beijing time, according to reports, he released a video titled “The World’s First USB-C iPhone”. In this video, Piernoll said that the USB-C interface has been installed on an iPhone X, replacing the Lightning interface with it. In the video, this iPhone successfully completed the charging through the new interface, and the new USB-C interface can also complete the data transmission task through the cable.
For a long time, Apple has been slowly using the USB-C interface on its devices. The latest product to use the new interface is the new generation of iPad mini. Although the iPhone has not used USB-C so far, a video appeared on YouTube in which a user successfully replaced Lightning with a USB-C interface on his iPhone.
The user’s name is Ken Pillonel (Ken Pillonel), and he stated in the video description that he reverse engineered Apple’s C94 connector and made a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) with a female USB-C port. After completing the schematic, he encountered a challenge: how to shrink it and install it on the iPhone.
Pilnor spent several months on this experiment. In May of this year, he published a blog post describing his idea and explaining the challenges encountered when replacing the Lightning port. A video at that time showed a working DIY prototype. He also planned for the future work at that time, so that the prototype can be reduced to fit in the iPhone shell.
In September, he updated the video again, saying that he had designed and ordered a PCB, which is a key component for port replacement. He also added that he is making a new video. In the new video, he will explain how this circuit board is made and how it is put into the iPhone case.
This video brings hope to users who want to replace Lightning with USB-C, but it is undeniable that for ordinary users, this project is not operable. Piernoll has a background in electronics and studied for a master’s degree in robotics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), which means that he has the skills and knowledge needed to complete the program.
Moreover, it should be noted that, according to Apple’s repair clauses, if unauthorized modification causes damage to the equipment, when repairs are carried out on Apple’s official website, the company will treat the damaged equipment as a product “out of warranty”. May incur additional repair costs, and even lead to Apple’s refusal to repair.
In September of this year, the European Commission proposed legislation to designate USB-C as the standard charging interface for all mobile devices. If the EU really completes the legislation, Apple will have to replace Lightning with USB-C on the new iPhone within two years.