The world’s first USB-C iPhone has hit eBay — and it’s now at $90,000

The world's first USB-C iPhone has hitting eBay — and it's now at $90,000

(Image credit: Ken Pillonel / YouTube)

Three weeks ago, robotics engineering pupil Ken Pillonel created the world's get-go USB-C iPhone — and you tin now bid to buy the prototype device from him on eBay. Or at least you lot can if yous have very deep pockets.

The projection saw Pillonel supersede an iPhone X's Lightning charger with a fully working USB-C port, something that Apple may exist forced to do in future by the Eu Committee. Now he's giving others a take chances to own his handiwork — and eBay bidding for the device has now reached a staggering $ninety,100 at the time of writing.

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With several hours however to go until the sale ends, in that location's no telling how high bidding for the item could eventually go, so it'due south not exactly a carefree impulse purchase.

Just if y'all're technically minded and have a spare iPhone to hand, you could always try your ain hand at making ane, as Pillonel has also shared full instructions for how to exercise so. Just be warned that it's certainly non for enthusiastic amateurs.

The full 14-minute video above outlines the process, and most of information technology is taken upward with the hard process of reverse-applied science official and knock-off Lightning connectors. A GitHub repository has the technical information for those looking to pull off the aforementioned feat.

But even with the trailblazing enquiry already done, y'all'll demand a steady hand for the iPhone X surgery. Not merely is the port physically wider, but the circuitry has to curve circular components in society to just fit. That wouldn't be possible without a super-thin gap betwixt the Taptic Engine and the battery that stretches all the way along. This is what the custom circuit board looked like:

The iPhone's USB-C custom circuit board — (Image credit: Ken Pillonel / YouTube)

Creating a USB-C shaped hole in the bottom is likewise something of a nightmare, due to Apple'south penchant for shatter-decumbent glass on the back and curved edges. Perchance that means that the company's switch to squared-off edges would be more modernistic-friendly. This specific design is just for the iPhone Ten, just Pillonel encourages anybody who manages to brand it work with different models to add a pull request to GitHub, so others can exercise the same.

If you don't want to shred your nerves (and your warranty) past using their own handset, the eBay pick might appeal instead. Just Pillonel has some weather condition: buyers concord that they won't restore, update or erase the phone; that they won't utilise it every bit their chief handset and that they won't open up it upward.

"I guarantee that the phone volition work when you receive it simply if you don't follow the aforementionned [sic.] guidelines you are on your own," the clarification reads. "And so basically y'all can practise whatever you want with it merely don't expect anything from me if you interruption something. It is just a prototype."

Despite these restrictions, the current bidding has reached $90,100 at the time of writing, with a few hours left to run. Dandy for a telephone that Pillonel picked because it was "the cheapest iPhone I could become my hands on that was still half decent at the fourth dimension."

The listing for Ken Pillonel's iPhone with USB-C — An earlier photo of the list, when it was at $51,300 (Prototype credit: eBay/Ken Pillonel)

The Eu's motion to brand USB-C the universal standard also makes it more likely that Apple tree volition adopt the connector for its iPhones. Technically, the company could just make USB-C models for Europe, and maintain Lightning elsewhere, but that feels similar adding additional costs out of sheer bloody mindedness, especially when recent iPads and MacBooks back up USB-C.

Of class, it is possible that we'll see Apple sidestepping the requirements by releasing an iPhone without ports.

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Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are institute all over the spider web and in the occasional magazine too. When non weighing upward the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games excess. Or, more than likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.