Apple is looking for creative ways to improve the laptops it makes and now it has been announced that it is looking into replacing the existing keyboard with a keyboard without physical buttons. A patent application filed by Apple back in 2017 and published now indicates that Apple is interested in producing a “keyboard without buttons” for its laptops.
According to the patent application, we learn that Apple is looking into the possibility of producing a keyboard that will be built similar to a mouse pad: completely flat and without any physical buttons. Instead of physical buttons appear virtual buttons that are created with the help of software. At first glance at the drawings that were attached to the request, the computer looks like a foldable computer (take the ASUS one for example) where there is a screen in the upper half and in the lower half, instead of a standard keyboard, there is a surface that looks like a secondary screen. In practice it is not a secondary screen but one large surface capable of showing a view of the layout of keyboard keys.
In order for the feeling of typing to be realistic, Apple implemented a feedback mechanism that gives you the feeling of real typing on keys. The surface on which you type is made of glass which includes 2 pressure detection systems for different input areas as well as a touch sensing system for determining the position of the user’s fingers.
One of the advantages of the new system is the lack of use of moving parts that wear out over time, which leads to future malfunctions. The keyboard is actually virtual, so Apple can adapt the keyboard to any different region of the world. You no longer need to engrave letters in the local language, simply change the display settings. In the same way, you can even change the layout of the keyboard and display it in a more ergonomic and convenient way.
The patent filed by Apple is not the first it has filed on the subject of keyboards. In 2018, Apple filed a patent application that talks about:Dual display equipment with improved visibility and suppressed reflections“. Please Apple is talking about a laptop without a physical keyboard. In 2017, Apple filed another patent application on the subject:Dual display electronic devices” Out of a desire to produce foldable style devices, probably computers and not necessarily iPhones.
All patent applications that are filed and published do not have to eventually become a finished product. Sometimes they remain just a fantasy of the designers and sometimes we get to receive the innovations in future products.
Source: Apple Insider