Robotics engineering pupil Ken Pillonel wowed the web final month with a wild hack that managed to put a working USB-C port inside an iPhone X for a completely useful USB-C iPhone. And now, Pillonel has revealed a much more detailed video displaying simply how he managed to drag off the hack, together with a Github repository with technical particulars, CNC directions, and data on the customized PCB that he designed for anybody courageous sufficient to attempt to put collectively an identical hack.
The 13-minute-long video exhibits off the nitty-gritty of Pillonel’s mod, which is easy in idea: combining a Lightning to USB-C connection collectively in a daisy chain to imitate a correct USB-C port.
The video exhibits off just about the entire growth course of. It’s fairly a journey, going from proof of idea prototypes, reverse engineering the Lightning connector (and finally, reverse engineering a faux Lightning connector), ordering a customized versatile circle board, and machining the iPhone’s case to suit the bodily bigger USB-C connector.
The video additionally exhibits off simply how tough it was to suit the additional circuitry, with the board bending round either side of Apple’s Taptic Engine {hardware} to squeeze in all the mandatory elements.
Pillonel can be auctioning off his authentic prototype on eBay, the place bidding has already reached $3,400 as of the time of publishing this piece, for anybody with deep pockets that’s curious about a USB-C iPhone of their very own. Pillonel does word that whoever does purchase the cellphone shouldn’t restore, replace, or erase it, open it, or “use it as your every day cellphone.”
Lastly, Pillonel has made the entire undertaking open supply in order that others can construct on his present work, whether or not that’s making extra customized USB-C iPhone X fashions or porting the design to different iPhones down the road (though the complete PCB design gained’t be posted till after the public sale completed). He additionally notes that he plans to proceed to construct on the design, with objectives for enhancing fast-charging, waterproofing, and even enabling USB-C equipment.
