Curiosity killed the hack job. When it comes to Apple’s Lightning adapter, it’s not going to happen. Like most of you, we were wondering when someone would be willing to spend the $30 to take apart (aka destroy) one to see what was going on inside. A dude by the name of Peter (no last name) from Double Helix Cables stepped up to the plate and says it will be almost impossible to modify.
Once you get it open, there are two stick-on metal heat shields, that remove to reveal copper foil covering the lightning plug area. Next you must peel the bastard center steel piece off, which reveals the lightning heart of the adapter. The lightning plug is steel reinforced now with a large steel molding integrated with it, then it attaches with a ribbon cable. There is a rubber dampening piece around it. All in all this thing is beautifully manufactured like a cruel puzzle.
It took Peter the better part of his afternoon to take the adapter apart. He was hoping to attach an audio output cable but says he should have known better. “This thing is even more fearsomely reinforced than the Lightning USB cord, by a factor of 10, surely to thwart those that want to hack it, and also, so that it cannot break easily.”
Peter’s tone in his writing is hilarious, which makes me think he should potentially consider a career change. If so, tweet me. While I fawn over his prose, I’ll let the rest of you drool over this nerd porn. Here’s what Peter saw.
