Those who want to void the new iPhone 13's warranty in creative ways could follow the example of Ken Pillonel: the robotics student who created "the world's first USB-C iPhone" before the European Union forced Apple to do so.

In what almost certainly should have come with a "don't try this at home" advisory attached, Pillonel managed to replace the iPhone X's Lightning charger with a fully working USB-C port. The international connector supports both charging and data transfer.

The project had been in the works for some time, with early videos showing prototypes that were too large to fit on any phone manufactured in the past decade. Five months later, however, the miniaturization process was complete, and in the short video seen here it appears quite seamless.

Details are light in the winning clip, but Pironel is currently in the process of editing a full video explaining the process. Judging from previous blog posts, the process involved reverse engineering Apple's custom C94 connector and creating a flexible PCB design that somehow fits alongside everything else inside the iPhone X.

Of course, no one disputed the impossibility of the iPhone being made with USB-C, but Apple stubbornly refused to use a USB-C port on the iPhone, while recent MacBooks and iPads have used one.

Indeed, when the EU first made noises about forcing companies to adopt the same connector in order to reduce electronic waste, Apple pushed back rather strongly, arguing that the move would be counterproductive and could end up in more landfills because so many Lightning cables are available

The rule was not approved by the board of directors.

Assuming this rule becomes law, Apple will probably adopt USB-C in all regions.

However, there is a potential loophole: since EU law does not cover wireless charging-only devices (forcing smartwatches to have USB-C ports for no reason would be ridiculous), Apple could proceed with its plans to make a portless iPhone.