Knowing That It Is Possible

As a seasoned hacker, I've had my fair share of tinkering with electronic devices. Give me a broken piece of consumer electronics, and I'll take it apart to see what's inside. Give me an embedded Linux machine, and I'll dig out the serial port to check for uboot. But there's one device that always makes me pause: the modern smartphone.

I've replaced screens and camera modules with OEM parts before, but when it comes to actual hardware hacking on smartphones, my confidence wavers. The thought of disassembling a complex system like a smartphone's innards and reassembling them into something new is daunting. That's why I was thrilled to see Marcin Plaza's recent attempt at gutting a smartphone and repackaging it into a new form factor.

The video shows Marcin meticulously disassembling the various modules, laying them out on his desk like a puzzle. As he examines each component, the scope of what he's accomplished becomes clear: batteries, motherboard, USB-C, power button, and screen – these are the bare essentials required to make something functional.

This realization is familiar territory for me, reminiscent of Scotty Allen's own journey into cellphone hacking. Scotty shared his experiences building a completely custom phone from scratch at Supercon, highlighting the turning point when he realized that with the right tools and access to specialized parts, it was no different from assembling a computer.

Seeing these examples has made me wonder if hardware hacking on cellphones isn't more feasible than I initially thought. It would still require some technical know-how and resources – perhaps scavenging for a cheap used phone or sourcing obscure connectors and breakout boards – but the idea doesn't seem entirely out of reach.

"It's not rocket science," Marcin's project suggests, as Scotty's experience shows us that with dedication and persistence, we can create something new from scratch. The notion that we might be able to build our own custom smartphones, tailoring them to our specific needs, is an intriguing one. And who knows? Maybe the barrier to entry isn't as high as I thought.