Robotics Engineer Replaces AirPods Lighting Port With USB-C Port [Video]

A robotics engineer has managed to replace the Lightning port on his AirPods charging case with a working USB-C port.

Ken Pillonel, a student completing his master's degree in robotics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, was the first to equip an iPhone with a working USB-C port. He then followed that up by adding a Lightning port to an Android smartphone.

Pillonel has now applied his skills to AirPods, adding a USB-C port to the Apple charging case.


Ken Pillonel built the World's First AirPods with a Type-C port for charging. The mod is working on the first and second generation so far. After creating the first USB-C iPhone in the world, Ken decided he needs to bring his skills to the other Apple product he uses daily that is still missing this common sense port. This trailer shows the final result of the hack with some quick shots from the full-length video currently being edited. The whole project will be made open source.

Notably, the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee has voted in favor of adopting the revised Radio Equipment Directive which will require consumer electronics makers, including Apple, to adopt USB-C. However, it will likely take quite some time before legislation is in place that would compel Apple to introduce USB-C to iPhone and other accessories.

Take a look at the video below...