An iPhone X that’s been modded to use a USB-C instead of Lightning connector has sold for a whopping $86,001 on eBay.
Built by robotics engineering student Ken Pillonel, the device — which still functions perfectly normally — was shown off in October before being listed for sale earlier this month. It had received a bid of $99,000, but that was retracted.
iPhone X modded to use USB-C fetches a fortune
It seems most iPhone owners would prefer to have a USB-C connector rather than Lightning at this point — especially since several iPad models have made the switch. But Pillonel is the only one who actually did something about it.
After months of painstaking work, which involved the reverse engineering of Apple’s custom C94 connector and a custom-designed flexible circuit board, Pillonel finally ended up with a working iPhone X that has a USB-C connector.
And it doesn’t just charge the device; the connector can also be used for data transfer, so it completely replaces the Lightning port and allows the iPhone X to function completely normally. It does come with some catches, however.
Don’t update it
In an effort to ensure the iPhone continues to function as intended, Pillonel stated a number of terms that potential buyers had to agree to before placing a bid on eBay — including that they wouldn’t reset or update the device.
That obviously put off too many people, because when the 10-day auction ended on Thursday, the winning bid was for a whopping $86,001. And, believe it or not, it looked like Pillonel was about to make even more at one point.
The iPhone had received a big of $99,000, but that one — as well as five others — were retracted before the auction ended.
Someone else is now the proud owner of “the world’s first USB-C iPhone,” which is a 64GB iPhone X that ships without any accessories. However, it does come with a 30-minute phone call with Pillonel if the buyer is interested.
