JAKARTA - Apple has not yet made a USB-C iPhone, despite rumors for years about that plan. However, that didn't stop a robotics engineering student from making it. Ken Pillonel has put a working USB-C port inside the iPhone X, which allows the phone to charge and transfer data via USB-C instead of using Lightning.
Pillonel has spent months on the project in his spare time, as seen by Apple Insider, and opened up a bunch of USB-C and Lightning cables to achieve his ultimate goal of a USB-C iPhone. Pillonel initially built a simple prototype in May that would allow iPhone batteries to be charged via a USB-C port. The proof of concept is a bit bulky and won't fit inside an iPhone, so the next step is to unplug all the cables and tuck them in.
Apple's custom C94 connector re-engineered by Pillonel, creating its own flexible PCB design that fits inside iPhone. Pillonel revealed the flexible cable in the last teaser video this week, which shows how the iPhone X with USB-C charges and transfers data. A full video is currently being edited, which will detail exactly how Pillonel managed to reverse engineer the C94 connector and install its custom PCB inside the phone.
The USB-C iPhone phone comes just weeks after the European Commission announced plans to force smartphones and other electronics manufacturers to fit the common USB-C charging port on their devices. Apple could be forced to make iPhones with USB-C in the next few years, or launch portless iPhones that rely on wireless charging.
It's not clear if Pillonel plans to release details of its custom flex PCB so others can try to modify. He is currently studying for a master's degree in robotics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL. He has previously used his talent to modify a car mount for the Samsung Galaxy Fold, releasing a 3D printed mod to allow the Xiaomi Mi Wireless Car Charger to work with the Galaxy Fold.
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