An iPhone X with USB-C port sold on eBay: $86,000!

The desire from users seems pretty clear: “We want the next iPhone to have a USB-C port.” This is certainly not new, and it is supported – or rather promoted – by the European Union, which has long been pushing for the adoption of a standard that would force smartphone and tablet manufacturers to standardize, opting for the USB-C solution. And the refined prototype of the modified iPhone X made by volunteer Ken Pillonel could be the right godfather to convince Apple to abandon its proprietary Lightning (it already happened on the iPad, so why not extend the new paradigm to smartphones…).

Remember the video showing the iPhone X with USB-C?

It is the result of several months of work, and the result is excellent. And it’s been so well received that it’s now selling for an astronomical amount on eBay, which the robotics graduate student opened to pay himself back for the time and effort he put into the project. Perhaps he didn’t even expect such a success: there are only six days left until the end of the auction, and it has already reached a valuation of 100,100 dollars thanks to the bids of 173 users. If you want to enter, you’ll need to bid at least $100,200 (with every 100 bids going up), but at least if you win the iPhone X with USB-C port, you’ll get it at home, saving on shipping costs, thanks to Ken Pillonel.

Note : it is not certain that the amount can actually be paid because a bidder may not complete the purchase, especially with “dummy” accounts.

The news is curious in itself, but it hides the public’s interest in a structural change to Apple’s smartphone. It’s the “first iPhone made with a USB-C port,” a “collector’s item” that might even gain value over time, but it’s also meant to be a provocation to draw attention to the issue. I wonder if Cupertino has come up with new ideas…

The clever Pillonel warns that the modified smartphone should not be updated, restored or opened, let alone used as a primary iPhone. “It’s just a prototype,” he says. In short, it works, yes, but exactly like that. By the way, this is a black iPhone X with 64GB of internal storage and no accessories. The price also includes the possibility of making a Pillonel assistance call. 30 minutes, no more.

THE AUCTION IS OVER : HERE IS THE PRICE OF THE SALE

Although some of the bids – those over $100,000 – were withdrawn, the iPhone with USB-C was finally sold, and at a very impressive price: $86,001.