{"id":610712,"date":"2024-02-29T00:45:22","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/apple-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/"},"modified":"2024-02-29T00:45:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:45:22","slug":"apple-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/apple-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/","title":{"rendered":"#Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"single-box clearfix entry-content\" style=\"max-width:1050px;\">\n<input class=\"jpibfi\" type=\"hidden\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AirPods Max 2 - before Apple!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qnw56zHnydE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ken Pillonel takes consumer satisfaction a little too seriously. Famous for hacking previous versions of the AirPods to give them USB-C ports and make them more repairable, Pillonel has now turned his sights to the AirPods Max (which hasn\u2019t received an update in over 3 years, as he points out). The regular AirPods and even the iPhone have both made a concerted shift to USB-C, but <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le surprisingly forgot to upgrade their flagship headphones, leaving it in the lightning era.<\/p>\n<p>No stranger to hacking (ahem, upgrading) Apple\u2019s accessories, Pillonel decided to build a USB-C AirPod Max before Apple did. The video above takes us through the journey, showing how Pillonel disassembled the existing AirPods Max, designed a new PCB with a USB-C port, and mounted it (with relative ease) in the headphones, giving them the upgrade they severely needed. The best part, Pillonel even sells his <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.kenp.io\/products\/41rp0d-max-usb-c-flex\">PCBs on his own website<\/a>, encouraging other people to hack their AirPods Max too and upgrade them to USB-C.<\/p>\n<p>Designer: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kenp.io\/\">Ken Pillonel<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-478191\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_1.jpg\" alt width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>The AirPods Max debuted in December 2020, which means they\u2019re one of the only mainstream Apple products to not have received a major upgrade in years (they were announced even before the AirTag). Realizing that now was a better time than ever, Pillonel decided to take his AirPods Max for a spin, cracking them open to see the assembly inside and whether it would be easy to upgrade it. Luckily, the lightning port was relatively easy to upgrade without any invasive procedures to the headphone\u2019s body itself. Apple designed the port with a removable metal lip that allowed it to magically become wider (it\u2019s almost as if Apple was preparing for this transition in advance), and knocking the lip out made the hole perfectly sized for a USB-C port.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-478192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt=\"\" data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_2.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-478192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_2.jpg\" alt width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<amp-ad width=\"100vw\" height=\"320\" type=\"adsense\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0648786275385337\" data-ad-slot=\"6683677248\" data-auto-format=\"rspv\" data-full-width><\/p>\n<div overflow><\/div>\n<p><\/amp-ad><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 4px; margin: 18px auto 20px; text-align:center;\"><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\" type=\"251ab90c08173b63b8fd5ac3-text\/javascript\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"251ab90c08173b63b8fd5ac3-text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pillonel simply unplugged the lightning connector from the existing motherboard and designed a new one that housed the USB-C port. He shared the new PCB design on PCBWay, and had the circuit boards sent to him. An older iteration featured a single-piece PCB that worked, but was susceptible to wear and tear, so Ken redesigned the PCB with a flexible ribbon cable, allowing it to bend without applying pressure on certain parts. The new PCB is available in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.kenp.io\/products\/41rp0d-max-usb-c-flex\">Pillonel\u2019s shop<\/a> for 39.9 CHF ($45.3 USD).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_478194\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-478194\" class=\"wp-image-478194 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt=\"\" data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_4.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-478194\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-478194 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_4.jpg\" alt width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-478194\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The older PCB was prone to wear and tear if used roughly<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_478193\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-478193\" class=\"wp-image-478193 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt=\"\" data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_3.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-478193\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-478193 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_3.jpg\" alt width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_3.jpg\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<amp-ad width=\"100vw\" height=\"320\" type=\"adsense\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0648786275385337\" data-ad-slot=\"1017606968\" data-auto-format=\"rspv\" data-full-width><\/p>\n<div overflow><\/div>\n<p><\/amp-ad><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 4px; margin: 18px auto 20px; text-align:center;\"><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\" type=\"251ab90c08173b63b8fd5ac3-text\/javascript\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"251ab90c08173b63b8fd5ac3-text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-478193\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flexible ribbon cable on the new PCB made it much more resistant to regular daily usage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The upgraded AirPods Max (Pillonel calls it the AirPods Max 2.0) only has the one design upgrade, although knowing Pillonel, he\u2019ll soon make the entire thing repairable and probably even figure out how to replace batteries on them. You can visit his <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ExploringTheSimulation\">YouTube channel here<\/a>, or read <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/yankodesign.com\/tag\/ken-pillonel\/\">our coverage on his other interesting projects here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-478195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt=\"\" data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_5.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-478195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_5.jpg\" alt width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt data-jpibfi-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/\" data-jpibfi-post-title=\"Apple AirPods Max get a USB-C port thanks to this clever engineering hack\" data-jpibfi-src=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_5.jpg\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-8\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<amp-ad layout=\"fluid\" height=\"fluid\" type=\"doubleclick\" data-slot=\"\/3847355\/yd-select-amp\"><\/amp-ad><\/div>\n<div class=\"swp-hidden-panel-wrap\" style=\"display: none; visibility: collapse; opacity: 0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"swp-content-locator\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<amp-ad width=\"100vw\" height=\"320\" type=\"adsense\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0648786275385337\" data-ad-slot=\"9466393889\" data-auto-format=\"rspv\" data-full-width><\/p>\n<div overflow><\/div>\n<p><\/amp-ad><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"vcard author\"><br \/>\n<span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Sarang Sheth<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/2024\/02\/28\/apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=apples-airpods-max-get-a-usb-c-port-thanks-to-this-clever-engineering-hack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ken Pillonel takes consumer satisfaction a little too seriously. Famous for hacking previous versions of the AirPods to give them USB-C ports and make them more repairable, Pillonel has now turned his sights to the AirPods Max (which hasn\u2019t received an update in over 3 years, as he points out). The regular AirPods and even&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":610713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.yankodesign.com\/images\/design_news\/2024\/02\/auto-draft\/airpods_max_2_usb-c_1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[122480,5029,139593,124290],"class_list":["post-610712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-airpods-max","tag-apple","tag-ken-pillonel","tag-usb-c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}