It’s been practically two years since Apple lastly made the change to USB-C with the iPhone 15 lineup. Nonetheless, for those who’re amongst those that haven’t been able to spring for one in all Apple’s newest fashions simply to get away from the Lightning port, there’s a brand new accent that may be the reply to your issues.
The iPhone was the place Apple held out the longest on the transition to USB-C, a minimum of amongst its mainstream units. Whereas the MacBooks by no means had any Lightning ports to eradicate, Apple started swapping out the older USB-A ports for the brand new USB-C customary a decade in the past.
Even the iPad, the place Apple was as soon as in such a rush to embrace Lightning that it launched a brand new mannequin in lower than six months merely to modify the ports, started shifting to USB-C in 2018 with the redesigned iPad Professional, finishing the transition with the Tenth-generation entry-level iPad within the fall of 2022 — a full 12 months earlier than the iPhone would lastly change over.
By that time, Lightning had been round for a strong ten years, which implies most of the Apple devoted in all probability had a broad assortment of chargers and different equipment. Nevertheless, many who weren’t practically as deeply entrenched within the Apple ecosystem had already switched to USB-C, from Android telephones and tablets to equipment reminiscent of headphones, earbuds, keyboards, and mice. For a lot of, the iPhone is their solely gadget that makes use of the oddball — and now largely defunct — charging port.
Fortunately, there’s an answer. Ken Pillonel, the Swiss engineering scholar who created an $86,000 USB-C iPhone prototype in 2021 and a way more reasonably priced AirPods Max USB-C mod simply earlier than final 12 months’s underwhelming second-gen launch, has turned his well-known DIY iPhone mod into an actual product for folk who’re proud of their older iPhones however actually want they’d a USB-C port.
Pillonel has constructed on his earlier work with a brand new iPhone case designed with one function in thoughts: changing the Lightning port to USB-C. The engineer shared the main points in a YouTube video, including, “This isn’t only a hack anymore; it’s the largest mission I’ve ever accomplished.”
This additionally isn’t only a fundamental charging adapter. Pillonel designed it to help all of the mainstream options the iPhone’s Lightning port is able to. That features quick charging, information transfers to computer systems, and even CarPlay. The case additionally helps passthrough MagSafe charging. Nevertheless, extra area of interest instances — these issues that require an Apple authentication chip to unlock — are nearly inconceivable to help, as Pillonel instructed The Verge’s Jess Weatherbed.
I assure the next: Quick charging, information transfers to computer systems, and CarPlay. Anything isn’t formally supported and also you’ll have to take away the case to make use of it, sadly. It is because Apple has locked down the adapters for Lightning telephones, in order that they will earn a fee on all adapters bought.
Ken Pillonel, chatting with The Verge
Pillonel has integrated a couple of different helpful options, together with a storage slot for an additional SIM card, very best for globetrotters who nonetheless choose bodily SIMs to eSIMs, plus a lanyard attachment.
The brand new iPh0n3 USB-C Safety Case is presently accessible for all iPhone 14 fashions for CHF 49.90 (roughly $60), with variations for the 2018 iPhone XS and iPhone XR by means of the 2021 iPhone 13 fashions listed as presently bought out. Demand seems to be excessive, so iPhone 14 house owners might need to place their order quickly, as the primary two batches have bought out and batch 3 received’t ship till mid-September.