Apple; Ken Pillonel
- A self-proclaimed hardware hacker modded his AirPods Max to have a USB-C charging port.
- It's rumored that Apple's next generation of the headphones will ditch the Lightning port for USB-C.
- If you can't wait (and don't care about your warranty), he's selling a $45 kit for the modification.
One engineer is giving AirPods Max owners one less reason to upgrade to the new model that Apple is expected to eventually announce — if they're the DIY type.
"AirPods Max 2 - before Apple!" is the title of a video posted to YouTube by hardware hacker Ken Pillonel on Wednesday. In less than four minutes, Pillonel breaks down how to convert the charging port of a pair of $549 AirPods Max headphones from Apple's signature Lightning port to a USB-C.
Apple is planning to switch over to a USB-C port — like it's now done with iPhones — for the next version of the AirPods Max, which could arrive later this year, Bloomberg reported back in October.
But Pillonel wasn't willing to wait, dubbing his modified headphones the "World's First USB-C AirPods Max" in his video description.
For those who are handy — and willing to void their AppleCare+ warranty — Pillonel is selling a DIY kit with instructions on how to install a USB-C port in the headphones for $45.
Apple first introduced the Lightning port more than a decade ago with the iPhone 5. While it then added the port to many of its devices, including iPads and accessories, the MacBook has used a USB-C port for years. That's led to many Apple fans eager to see a fully USB-C product line-up, which would allow them to only have to keep track of one type of charging cable.
There are signs that's started to happen. Apple ditched the Lightning port in its latest generation of the AirPods Pro and the iPhone 15 in favor of USB-C.
In 2021, Pillonel beat Apple to the punch and became the first known person to mod an iPhone to have a functioning USB-C port. His prototype fetched an $85,550 bid when it went up for auction on eBay.