The iPhone was modified by Ken Pillonel, a robotics student who shared a video explaining how he did it. Since the video was posted on November 1, it's garnered over 600,000 views and has been widely discussed across social media. The eBay listing, which lasted 10 days, had a total of 116 bids and 6 bid retractions. One bid earlier in the week topped $99,000.
From the iPad to the Mac, Apple utilizes USB-C ports for charging, data, and more. The company has relentlessly stuck to using its proprietary Lightning connector on the iPhone, and reports suggest that it won't be changing anytime soon.
The iPhone X is a 64GB model, and the winning bidder will be receiving the iPhone X in its original box but without any accessories. As a bonus, the winner will also get a 30-minute phone call with Pillonel should they have any questions about how the world's first USB-C iPhone was born.
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Tuesday April 14, 2026 4:39 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
The Swiss robotics engineer behind a commercial case that adds USB-C to Lightning iPhones has now built a reverse version: A case that adds a fully functional Lightning port to the iPhone 17 Pro.
Ken Pillonel describes the project as a tongue-in-cheek response to reader requests, and says he has no plans to sell it. "It's part hack, part mod, and one of the most cursed things I've ever...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Wish I had so much money to burn it on something like this. I understand if it was an authentic prototype from Apple. But a third party mod (impressive, but a mod). Wow
Last week, an iPhone X modified with a USB-C port was listed on eBay ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/04/usb-c-iphone-ebay-auction/') as "the world's first USB-C iPhone ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/01/iphone-x-modded-usb-c-port/')," and now, a few days after intense bidding, the USB-C iPhone has been sold for $86,001 ('https://www.ebay.com/itm/165161363347?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5336804442&toolid=10001&customid=73726X1523000Xaab97069cf2e94f664ed78c3cfca821a').
The iPhone was modified by Ken Pillonel, a robotics student who shared a video explaining how he did it. Since the video was posted on November 1 ('https://youtu.be/FVEQJNRmfDQ'), it's garnered over 600,000 views and has been widely discussed across social media. The eBay listing, which lasted 10 days, had a total of 116 bids and 6 bid retractions. One bid earlier in the week topped $99,000.
From the iPad to the Mac, Apple utilizes USB-C ports for charging, data, and more. The company has relentlessly stuck to using its proprietary Lightning connector on the iPhone, and reports suggest ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/02/iphone-keeping-lightning-no-usb-c/') that it won't be changing anytime soon.
The iPhone X is a 64GB model, and the winning bidder will be receiving the iPhone X in its original box but without any accessories. As a bonus, the winner will also get a 30-minute phone call with Pillonel should they have any questions about how the world's first USB-C iPhone was born.
Article Link: iPhone X With USB-C Port Sells For $86,001 on eBay ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/12/iphone-x-with-usb-c-port-sells/')
I wonder how much a wireless charging iPhone would sell for....
In all seriousness do we really need to change the port when the functionality is basically obsoleted with wireless charging and data transfer? This is seriously the most frivolous thing I've seen. Europe should push for wireless instead of producing waste.
Uhhhh…. You do realise people use the port for more than just charging right? With the iPhone 13 pro, it supports prores video which can be 100s of gigs. Good luck porting that to a computer with wireless charging, or usb 2 speeds with lightning. Sure if you have a Mac you can airdrop, but it’s still slower and pros need fast speeds. If you don’t have a mac, it’s not possible
Also, wireless charging is NOT a viable replacement right now. It’s still much slower, you lose tons of power due to the nature of wireless charging (see apple’s MagSafe battery, which is pretty much useless) and at this time, it can’t transfer anything. In fact, if you had a portless iPhone, you won’t even be able to restore it if it gets bricked.
