This Insanely Difficult Mod Makes the iPhone X Transparent

What if the iPhone’s casing was see-through? In lieu of the unlikeliness of Apple releasing such a device, some intrepid phone modders have created the next best thing.

To be clear, the process isn’t easy. It involves popping the back case off of an iPhone X. It’s a risky move, seeing as the glass can break and the attached cables are prone to being cut. And that’s not even including the possible damage to the device’s internal components, like the rear camera or the battery.

Once that part is over with, the only thing left to do is painstakingly scratch off the vinyl coating underneath the back glass. That’s even harder if one wants to keep the Apple logo intact.

If we’re being honest, you’re probably not going to try this on your own $1,000 device — and we definitely don’t recommend that you do. Luckily, you can see the entire process and the results in a recent video posted by YouTube channel EverythingApplePro.

It’s a neat idea in concept, although judging by the aesthetics of it, it’s probably not worth it. That’s especially true as the process of modifying the back casing itself is arduous, and it’s incredibly easy to irreparably damage a smartphone when doing so. Even if everything goes smoothly and as planned, it’ll still void your warranty and will break the iPhone’s waterproofing measures.

Still, the difficulty and the voided warranty hasn’t deterred niche enthusiasts who have undertaken the process with their own devices — even though the end result is less than impressive, at least on the iPhone X. That’s because of the way the phone is built with its wireless charging and shielding. Instead of seeing all the cool internal components of the device, you’ll just end up seeing a slab of silver metal and a black circular pad in the middle.

Besides, if you’d just like to see the innards of the iPhone X without taking it apart, you could just download these high-resolution wallpapers, courtesy of popular teardown site iFixit.