We’ve seen transparent modifications to iPhones before, even for the ultra-thin iPhone Air. However, one YouTuber decided to take things further, equipping his iPhone Air with not only a transparent back, but also a physical SIM slot that works well.
We’ve already seen a dramatic, transparent makeover of the Apple iPhone Air before, thanks to popular YouTube channel Phone Repair Guru. However, a YouTuber named Linzhen took things even further, not only giving his iPhone Air a transparent back with the help of professional modders at the Huaqiangbei market in China, but also giving it a full physical SIM slot that works as intended.
It wasn’t easy, which is to be expected. Removing the layers of paint on the back glass panel of the iPhone Air wasn’t the most challenging part, it was the arduous task of doing so using a laser while preventing damage to the MagSafe charging coil. After all, the MagSafe battery pack saves the day for many. Once this part was completed, the entire back glass of the iPhone Air became transparent, making its beautiful internal components fully visible.
iPhone Air undergoes SIM card surgery
But Lenzin refused to stop there, as professional modders were then tasked with drilling a large gap into the iPhone Air’s chassis to make room for an actual SIM slot, ultimately removing Apple’s original Haptic Engine in favor of a smaller, third-party one. After some board-level soldering, the SIM slot worked as intended, and the phone worked fine.
However, some issues inevitably arose, as the iPhone Air’s thermal performance degraded significantly due to the removal of the back panel’s thermal pads during the paint removal process, and the Air also ended up losing its resistance to dust and water. Furthermore, a ribbon cable for the microphone later disintegrated, requiring the phone to be sent in for repair.
But in the end, Lenzin seems to have gotten what he was looking for: an Apple iPhone Air with a transparent back and a SIM slot that reduces the hassle of swapping SIM cards. the price? Poor thermal performance, compromised durability, and void warranty plan.
