Back in 2021, engineer Ken Pillonell did what Apple refuses to do by building the world’s first iPhone with a working USB-C port. Now he has changed the script, and in the new project he made the first Android smartphone with a Lightning connector.
Sure, an Android smartphone with a Lightning port doesn’t have the same appeal as an iPhone with USB-C, but that’s okay. In his video, Pillonel says that the device was meant to be a fun project to “balance the chaos” that followed the release of the previous device, and its release was deliberately timed to coincide with April’s April Fools’ Day.
DIY: How to replace Lightning with USB-C in iPhone
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However, collecting this thing was no joke. Although the idea may seem silly, the Lightning port on Android (in this case, the Samsung Galaxy A51) is fully functional for both charging and data transfer.
“It was a complex modification that required out-of-the-box thinking,” says Pillonel.
He added that the hardest part was figuring out how to make it all work together.
“The Lightning cables sold by Apple are pretty smart,” the engineer said. “They can only charge Apple devices. So I had to find a way to trick the cable into thinking it was connected to such a device. And all this should fit inside the smartphone, which in itself is another problem.
Luckily, Pillonel has learned a few things from his previous project that helped lay the groundwork for his new device.
“I would say it was easier to do than the first iPhone with USB-C for two reasons,” he said. “The first is that I’m getting better at this because I learn something new every day, so hopefully I can make these modifications faster and faster. The second reason is that the quality of the finished product is now not up to what it was with the iPhone.
What will happen next with this unique gadget? For those who want to know more details about what went into the project, Pillonel says he’s working on a full-length explainer video coming soon to his YouTube channel. As for the phone itself, Pillonel says he’s likely to keep it, as he ran into trouble when he put the original USB-C iPhone up on eBay, resulting in over $100,000 in fake bids.
What will happen to this unique gadget now? For those who want to know more technical details, the enthusiast will prepare a full-length video with all the details of the project. As for the phone itself, Pillonel says he’s likely to keep it. The last time he listed an iPhone with a USB-C port on eBay, the number of bogus listings reached over $100,000.
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