The humble USB-C port has been within the information as a result of Europe desires to make it a regular for all cellular gadgets to cut back e-waste — and Apple is the one producer nonetheless not utilizing the usual for its smartphones. Now, a robotics engineering pupil has proved that its doable to switch the iPhone’s Lightning connector with a USB-C port, Apple Insider has reported. 

On his YouTube channel, EFPL grasp’s pupil Ken Pillonel teased an iPhone X with a USB-C port, promising a full video afterward the way it was carried out. In an earlier blog post and video, he defined how he reverse-engineered the Lightning connector, then constructed a prototype PCB connector to show the idea. 

Pillonel found that Apple sells a Lightning connector to licensed companions that construct USB-C to Lightning cables. He managed to get one out of a third-party cable, then take away the metallic half and expose the PCB. With that carried out, he pulled the feminine Lightning port from an iPhone and soldered wires from the naked C94 board to a PCB with USB-C connectors. “Once that was done I had my first working prototype,” he stated. “Lightning is gone and only USB-C is left.”

The subsequent step was to “fully reverse engineer the C94” board in order that every thing may be shrunk down to suit right into a telephone, he stated. That half has apparently been carried out, judging by the video above, and might be totally defined in a second video.

An iPhone with a USB-C port is the dream for a lot of customers, as it might permit for quicker PD charging and using customary, non-proprietary cables. It’s additionally clearly possible for Apple, provided that the iPad Pro has a USB-C port. Europe has proposed a rule that may require USB-C charging for all telephones and digital gadgets, with the intention of lowering e-waste and client inconvenience. 

It’s not clear if this has been carried out earlier than, however most people should not strive a undertaking like this at residence. Pillonel has an electronics background and is working on a Master’s diploma in Robotics on the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). That’s with out mentioning that it might clearly void your iPhone’s guarantee.