A modified iPhone X just sold for $86,001 on eBay after robotics student Ken Pillonel re-engineered the phone to use a working USB-C connection instead of its original Lightning port.
The custom iPhone X was put up for auction earlier this month, and quickly attracted a $3,500 starting bid. There were 116 bids in total (some over $100,000) and six bid retractions before the winning bid of $86,001 closed out the 10-day auction, according to MacRumors.
What does $86K get you? Pillonel published a video showing just how it was achieved.
While Apple has embraced USB-C on MacBooks and some iPads, its iPhones still sport Lightning connectors. Though there has been speculation that Apple would switch to USB-C on its iPhones, not to mention major European regulatory pressure to do so, Apple has held out.
Until Apple makes that switch, Pillonel’s project to retrofit an iPhone with a USB-C port may offer gearheads an alternate option. Pillonel made the project files open source, allowing other tinkerers to try the modification themselves or even alter other iPhone models.
Most of us will likely have to just wait for Apple to come around on USB-C, as the modification process involves not only in-depth technical know-how but also special machining equipment. There’s also still time for Apple to ditch both the USB-C and Lightning ports to release the speculated portless iPhone, which would handle charging and data transfer wirelessly.
