eBay sold a modified iPhone X with a USB-C instead of a Lightning connector for $86,001 The modified iPhone X, created by Kenn Pillonel (a robotics engineering student), can charge and transfer data using the physical connector. Pillonel warns against using the innovative device as a regular phone. He also cautions against taking it apart or updating the OS. This could cause it to break.
It shouldn't surprise that the mod sold for more than eighty times its original price. Pillonel has made his work available in a Github repository. This repository contains technical details, CNC instructions and information about the custom PCB that the design uses. However, it is not easy to replicate the modification. It is especially challenging because it requires additional circuitry to be installed into the phone's chassis.
Although the auction began at $1, bidding reached $3,000 by the end the first day. It then quickly climbed into the tens and thousands. A few higher bids, around $100,000, were also received but were withdrawn before the auction ended. There were 116 bids.
Pillonel stated that although the prototype was sold, he plans to continue to work on improving elements such as the USB-C iPhones fast-charging, waterproofing and support for USB-C accessories. The design is open-sourced and the prototype has been released to the public, so it will hopefully be a collaborative effort.
You can find out more about Pillonel's work on the Vergecast this Week.
