The rumour mill has been churning for years with speculation Apple will abandon Lightning port for the new industry standard USB-C tech, but until now the company has resisted ditching its proprietary solution.
However, given a modified iPhone X with a functioning (and quite tidy looking) USB-C port is currently going gangbusters on eBay, Apple would do well to take notice of just how popular this switch might be – as it has been on some of the newer iPad models.
The listing is dubbed the “the world’s first USB-C iPhone” while the seller calls his iPhone X prototype a “true piece of collection for any Apple fanboy out there” (via MacRumors). It offers capacity for charging and data transfer, but the seller says they probably shouldn’t use this as their every day handset.
It’s currently up to $90,000 on eBay with a week in the bidding left to run. The winner will also get to have a phone call with the engineer, a robotics student named Ken Pillonel, to answer any questions they may have.
Earlier this week, Pillonel shared a video of the process, which looks mightily clean. You can see it below.
It’s not clear whether Apple will ever make the change to USB-C. It seems that every year it is rumoured; whether it’s the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 or iPhone 13. It just never seems to materialise. It has already been rumoured for the iPhone 14.
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However, Apple is facing pressure from the European Union to adopt the standard in an effort to cut down on electronic waste. The company has already ditched the charging brick and AirBuds earphones from the box, but the Lightning standard has endured.
Would you prefer Apple to adopt the USB-C standard? Or are you happy with the traditional Lightning cable? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
