Here is how a Lightning port was grafted onto an Android phone
You’d be forgiven for thinking it was an April Fools joke – it was posted on April 1st, after all. But the Samsung Galaxy A51 that modified with a Lightning port is very real. Maker Ken Pillonel previously modded an iPhone with a USB-C port and due to popular demand he did the opposite as well.
Why do this? For fun and also for the challenge. The first obstacle was to subvert the authentication hardware inside Apple accessories – this is primarily intended to disable knock-off products, however, it will prevent an Android phone from using a Lightning cable. If the chip inside the cable doesn’t hear the right authentication, it will refuse to carry power and data.
As you will see in the video, there is a way around this, but it is not as straightforward as plug and play. The final challenge was miniaturization – modern smartphones are so tightly packed that there is hardly any room inside for new hardware.
Well, you already know that Ken succeeded in grafting a Lightning port onto a phone that Cupertino would not approve of. Now here’s how he did it: