Wesley Hilliard
The engineer who placed a USB-C port in a custom AirPods charging case has provided an in-depth video for his methodology and explains how others can try it at home.
YouTuber and engineer Ken Pillonel isn't happy about Apple's port situation, so he's been finding ways to rectify it himself. After putting USB-C in an iPhone, he built an AirPods charging case with USB-C using a combination of custom components and Apple's own internals.
The in-depth video explains the trial and error of making his own AirPods case, down to getting the quality of the plastic closer to Apple's. Then, he breaks down how he built his own custom USB-C connector to replace the Lightning connector.
Rather than auction off the final product, Pillonel has decided to make his designs public. Anyone can visit his custom website titled "AirPods' Dirty Secret" for details and links to 3D CAD files and more.
By making the project open source, he hopes to help enterprising AirPods users convert their old cases and reduce e-waste. Beyond his issue with the Lightning port, he's also upset that Apple doesn't repair AirPods cases but instead replaces them.
Apple prides itself as a company concerned with bettering the environment. However, some see products like AirPods as an antithesis to that stance due to their "disposable" nature.
Couple that with the EU regulations requiring Apple move to USB-C in AirPods and iPhone by late 2024, and there may be a large influx of people moving to the new devices. That means all the old Lightning-based devices will become obsolete with no upgrade path that doesn't involve throwing an old device away.
These concerns are valid, but also leave out the ability for users to recycle products or hand them down. Apple moving to USB-C doesn't render Lightning-based products useless overnight, so landfills aren't going to suddenly fill up with old Apple products.
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7 Comments
I’m curious to know how changing from Lightning to USB-C improves repairability? If I were to rate the changes to the AirPods earpieces and case design that would have the greatest impact on repairability and product service life I would put “user replaceable batteries” way at the top of the list. The long stem AirPods would probably last 5-10 years if the batteries were easily replaced, rather than 18-24 months. The Pros would probably have to have their silicon tips replaced more frequently, but the rest of the unit should also last 5-10 years if battery replacement was easy and cheap.
What a waste of time and effort. A wireless recharging case requires a single purchase and virtually no time. Apple is not going to implement USB-C as they will just move straight to wireless charging.