The first iPhone with a USB-C port sold for 75,000 euros – BFMTV

A Swiss robotics student succeeded in modifying the charging port of an iPhone X. He then sold his prototype on eBay.

Ken Pillonel will have no financial difficulty replacing his iPhone X. Master student at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland), the young man launched a challenge for many months: understand the secrets of the Apple smartphone to succeed in replacing the Lightning port with USB-C – which equips Android devices in particular. After many tests, he succeeded on October 12th. This November 11, he sold the prototype on eBay for $ 80,000, or 75,000 euros.

Collector’s item

On the online auction site, 116 Internet users tried to afford the product, presented as “the first USB-C iPhone in the world”. The project was notably popularized on Ken Pillonel’s YouTube channel, with more than a million and a half views for the video explaining his approach. Changing the charging port of an iPhone is a real technical challenge, which requires spending time understanding every detail of the mobile, from the inside.

Despite the prowess, which now allows the iPhone X to be charged with an Android smartphone (or iPad, or MacBook) cable, the product’s eBay page specifies that the buyer must not under any circumstances make the slightest update. software update and not use the mobile on a daily basis. It is therefore above all a collector’s item. The new owner will still be able to spend 30 minutes with the engineer on the phone.

If Ken Pillonel’s iPhone is the first to feature a USB-C port, it might not be the last. Under pressure by the European Commission, which wants to impose the universal smartphone charger in 2024, Apple could integrate this connection into its next iPhones more quickly, in the face of growing demand from its customers.

The company, which integrated the Lightning port a decade ago, offered a cable system that could be plugged in in both directions, unlike micro-USB. USB-C now benefits from this ease of use, while being more efficient in charging speed.