A Swiss robotics student has successfully modified the charging port of an iPhone X. He then sold his prototype on eBay.
Ken Bellonel will have no financial difficulty in replacing his iPhone X. A master’s student at EPFL in Lausanne (Switzerland), the young man launched a challenge a few months ago: Understand the secrets of the success of the Apple smartphone in replacing the Lightning port with USB-C – which powers Android devices in particular. After many tests, he passed on October 12. On November 11, he sold the prototype on ebay For $80,000 or €75,000.
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On the online auction site, 116 Internet users tried to purchase the product, which was presented as “the world’s first USB-C iPhone”. The project has gained notable popularity on Ken Bellonel’s YouTube channel, gaining more than one and a half million views for video He explains his approach. Changing the charging port of your iPhone is a real technical challenge that requires spending time understanding every detail of the mobile phone from the inside.
Despite the ingenuity that now allows you to ship the iPhone X with an Android smartphone (or iPad or MacBook), the product’s eBay page specifies that under no circumstances should a buyer perform any update. Updating the software and not using the mobile on a daily basis . Therefore, it is above all a collector’s element. The new owner will still be able to spend 30 minutes with the engineer on the phone.
If Ken Pillonel’s iPhone was the first to feature a USB-C port, it might not be the last. Under pressure from the European Commission, which wants to force a universal smartphone charger in 2024, Apple can integrate this connectivity into its next iPhones more quickly, in the face of growing demand from its customers.
The company, which incorporated the Lightning port a decade ago, introduced a cable system that can plug in both directions, unlike micro-USB. USB-C now benefits from this ease of use, while also being more efficient in charging speed.
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