Apple is rumored to be working on an iPhone with USB-C this year, but creative users have taken matters into their own hands and created their own USB-C-equipped iPhones. The latest of such mods is by an engineer who created an iPhone with both a USB-C port and a Lightning port side by side.
The iPhone mod comes from an engineer on YouTube. Using an iPhone 12 mini (though presumably, any iPhone would work), the engineer added another port to the iPhone. This means that not only is this modded iPhone capable of using the modern USB-C standard, but it can also do something as simple as listening to music through wired headphones while charging. Apple’s iPhones are capable of playing music through the Lightning port, so any combination of USB-C and Lightning-wired headphones or charger would work.
Apple had avoided putting USB-C on its iPhones for years despite transitioning its MacBooks and iPad Pro lineup to USB-C slowly. Now, every Macbook or iPad you can buy comes complete with a USB-C port, with the iPhone being the only holdout.
That’s set to change shortly. The EU forced its hand and issued an ultimatum. If Apple (or any other company) intends to continue selling phones in Europe, it needs a USB-C port. With that, the argument was over.
At the same time, it’s not clear if Apple’s USB-C move would make its iPhones interoperable with Android phones. According to one report, Apple currently plans on limiting iPhones with USB-C to charging with made-for-iPhone certified cables only. Potentially, you could charge your Android phone with your iPhone cable, not not the other way around, if this report pans out.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also says that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will support slower transfer speeds with USB-C compared to the iPhone 15 Pro models. Maybe this modded iPhone with two ports could ultimately prove less confusing when all is said and done.
