In October, Ken Pillonel, a robotics engineering student, uploaded a video showing how he created the very first iPhone with a USB-C port. A month later, Pillonel has sold the modified iPhone X on eBay for over $86,000.
The auction started out at $1, but as the ten-day auction progressed, that number quickly soared from the thousands to hundreds of thousands. At one point on the final day of bidding, someone placed a bid of around $100,000 before retracting it. The winning bid came in as a sum of $86,001, beating the previous highest bidder by a dollar just minutes before the auction ended.
Although the modified iPhone can support USB-C charging and data transfers when connected, Pillonel forewarned anyone who won the bid that they should not use the world’s first USB-C iPhone as their primary smartphone. To ensure you do not risk breaking the device, Pillonel also warned the buyer not to update or open the phone up and take it apart.
If you are bummed about not having a shot at owning the first USB-C iPhone, there is some luck. Earlier this month, Pillonel open-sourced his work on the project on Github. Containing information such as technical details as well as created the customized PCB design he used to create the USB-C port on the iPhone.
Pillonel previously said that any money he received from selling the modified iPhone would be used to “buying specialized equipment to tackle more ambitious projects.” While also noting in his Github repository that he plans to expand on the USB-C iPhone idea, including looking for ways to support USB-C accessories and finding a new (and small) waterproof connector.
It’s possible it won’t remain a unique product to Pillonel for too long, given that the EU recently ruled that all devices, including Apple’s, must adopt USB-C as a universal standard within two years.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/the-first-usb-c-iphone-x-sold-on-ebay-auction-over-8600
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