iPhone 17 Pro: A Swiss engineer reinstalls the Lightning port using a modified case

Now a prototype engineer, Ken Pillonel was still a robotics student when he undertook this crazy project in 2021: replacing his iPhone's proprietary Lightning port with a USB-C one, two years before Europe forced Apple to adopt this format. An ingenious DIY project combining a Lightning adapter, an electronic board, and 3D printing. Perhaps because he's bored and a bit mischievous, the young Swiss man has now turned the problem on its head, to give the old Lightning port back to his new iPhone 17 Pro, which is naturally equipped with USB-C. But to save time, he simply designed a protective case with an adapter. A seemingly simple yet ingenious project, requiring a small homemade circuit board and a state-of-the-art 3D printer to produce a beautiful, flexible, and sturdy casing. An object that is ultimately quite absurd, finished just in time for April Fool's Day, highlighting both its limited usefulness and its sheer absurdity. We love it.