You do it constantly. With your favorite post.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Student Mods an iPhone X to Add a Functional USB-C Port
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The guy stands to make more from YouTube views than from the auction.
As someone who used to modify semi-pro audio gear (to add pro-style capabilities) as a small sideline, and as a longtime broadcast/recording studio engineer where both home-brew devices and modifications came with the territory... My hat's off to him for modifying what I like to consider a "Swiss watch." Repair/modding on that old, analog gear I worked on was far easier - relatively speaking, wide-open spaces to work with; no micro-electronic surgery. Smartphones are marvels of miniaturization, with no wasted interior space and some very fragile interconnects. It's hard enough to do a battery replacement no less find space for a larger I/O port and interface with the existing wiring.
That said, this is one of those "It's the thought that counts" projects. Is there a practical benefit to USB-C vs. Lightning in an iPhone X? Other than using a cable with USB-C plug on both ends, none that I'd be able to list. The rest of the phone would still need to be capable of dealing with what enters and leaves that port - I seriously doubt there are any new/enhanced capabilities.
And yeah, he's selling it "as-is;" not even a 90-day warranty on workmanship and materials. Smart move.
As to the broader comments about Lightning vs. USB-C? Give it a rest people, it's been rehashed a million times on these boards. Personally, I've got a dozen USB-A to Lighting cables, a similar number of USB-A charging bricks, and various Lighting adapters. I have just one piece of gear with a USB-C port, a half-dozen with Lightning. So until I replace all that Lighting and USB-A gear, USB-C is just one more port that requires adapters, the same way it's been since my pro audio/broadcast days.
As someone who used to modify semi-pro audio gear (to add pro-style capabilities) as a small sideline, and as a longtime broadcast/recording studio engineer where both home-brew devices and modifications came with the territory... My hat's off to him for modifying what I like to consider a "Swiss watch." Repair/modding on that old, analog gear I worked on was far easier - relatively speaking, wide-open spaces to work with; no micro-electronic surgery. Smartphones are marvels of miniaturization, with no wasted interior space and some very fragile interconnects. It's hard enough to do a battery replacement no less find space for a larger I/O port and interface with the existing wiring.
That said, this is one of those "It's the thought that counts" projects. Is there a practical benefit to USB-C vs. Lightning in an iPhone X? Other than using a cable with USB-C plug on both ends, none that I'd be able to list. The rest of the phone would still need to be capable of dealing with what enters and leaves that port - I seriously doubt there are any new/enhanced capabilities.
And yeah, he's selling it "as-is;" not even a 90-day warranty on workmanship and materials. Smart move.
As to the broader comments about Lightning vs. USB-C? Give it a rest people, it's been rehashed a million times on these boards. Personally, I've got a dozen USB-A to Lighting cables, a similar number of USB-A charging bricks, and various Lighting adapters. I have just one piece of gear with a USB-C port, a half-dozen with Lightning. So until I replace all that Lighting and USB-A gear, USB-C is just one more port that requires adapters, the same way it's been since my pro audio/broadcast days.
not that apple can't do it, its more they don't want to. they rather go portless
I agree. Nothing to see there.
probably to protect himslef from all the scammers on eBay who'd bid it up, update it and claim it didn't work to get their money back and keep the phone. eBay has turned into a scammers den; someone I know has posted items for sale and gets offers above the "Buy it now" price; often asking to text hem as well. I had to explain how the scam worked and to report the scammer to eBay. Of course, the scammer just opens a new account and tries again.
I just had a mental picture of Tim huffing into a paper bag after reading this article.
People here fail to realize that the average consumer will complain greatly if they have to buy new cables and accessories again.
I don’t think it has anything to do with those fees and more about controlling what accessories are in the iPhone ecosystem
More often than not, buyers will just make a claim that you sent an item that is "not as described" and get their money back. Example - the seller sends a used Nikon 5D DSLR camera to a buyer for $2500, and the buyer opens a case with eBay and says they received a Nikon D200, with pictures of said D200 (which buyer had laying around). The seller is forced to give a refund and the seller gets a D200 returned in a box, while they buyer gets a free 5D. It didn't used to be this way, but eBay has swung the other way and generally favors the buyer in absurd situations.
Last Christmas I sold an Xbox gift certificate for $25 to a person on eBay, 6-8 weeks later eBay refunded the buyer and told me the account owner's underage son bought the card and was not authorized on the account (he got on her phone, which was logged into eBay). The card was scratched off and used, I lost the $25 credit. I appealed and was immediately denied. It's free money for the dishonest. This is a true story.
They don’t get that most users are fine using lightning cables and probably never connect their phones to a traditional computer for file transfer.
As a physical connector, Lightining seems more robust to me. All the USB connector standards seem clunky and feeble. Maybe Apple might do a Lighting Pro Max that will handle USB-C.
Apple can not just ditch for portless because iPhone 13 Pro series. Shooting PreRes video requires a high speed port and cable and yet a lighting port is freaking slow. Going for portless? That is such a bad idea for iPhone Pro. They really have to put USB-C at least for iPhone Pro series in order to transfer massive files. If not, why do they even advertise it as a pro gear for photography and video? How ironic.
Not too likely Apple would send the lawyers. Unauthorized modifications simply void the warranty, which on an iPhone X would have expired a while ago anyway. Reselling a used phone (modified, refurbished, or not) is not a crime. I'm not aware of Apple going after sites like iFixIt, other than being on opposite sides of the Right to Repair legislative debates.
No, the warnings he gave with the sale is basically saying, "Don't come back to me if anything goes wrong."
That’s it, it’s because Apple have no idea how to do.
Is it true that in these cases eBay won't let you give the scammer a negative feedback?
I think there's a lot to be said for the hardiness of a lightning connecter relative to USB-C. I defo want USB-C on my laptop/iPad Pro, but do I want USB-C on the thing that goes in my pocket, gets full of fluff, gets corrosive sweat and rain in while cycling, and generally just has a lot harder time? That's a harder one to judge. My lightning port is now blatantly a bit dodgy, but it is over 6 years old and I'd be very surprised if a USB-C one lasted as long as this has.
May also be why the lower end iPad hasn't gone USB-C yet, as I can see plenty of kids playing with them, snapping the connectors off without breaking the port, or just generally filling them with snot and ***** that can be more easily picked out with a paperclip.
But with ProRes video it's at least got to get faster. Something has to happen at some point.
May also be why the lower end iPad hasn't gone USB-C yet, as I can see plenty of kids playing with them, snapping the connectors off without breaking the port, or just generally filling them with snot and ***** that can be more easily picked out with a paperclip.
But with ProRes video it's at least got to get faster. Something has to happen at some point.
What he’s doing isn’t illegal, though. Some of what the cofounders did, though…
They could still charge them to be in the MFi program, though. And, with a connector capable of delivering 100+ watts, I’d be recommending only MFi parts anyway.
Dude. It’s only about the MiFi licensing fees. If it wasn’t the lighting connector would be gone by now
Right? I can’t believe he took the thyme to right that post!
I have never heard anyone make an argument around using a proprietary charging spec/connector to save internal space.