It is really difficult to imagine a laptop that does not have a keyboard with a physical mechanism to be used. The reality is that in the future they can be completely transformed as Apple already raises in a patent that we discuss in this article.
The switch to Apple keyboards
Over the last few years one of the main criticisms that Macs have received has resided almost exclusively on their keyboard. The fact that dirt can enter the base of the keys can end up breaking the keyboard as a whole, especially if you are dealing with a butterfly mechanism. The solution that Apple has tried to give has been to include different membranes to make it difficult for dirt to enter without much success. In the end they have decided to completely change the mechanism so that the cleaning of the keys can be carried out correctly.
Building a keyboard that cannot get dirt of any kind is extremely difficult. This is a problem suffered by many products from other brands that do not have to be Apple. That is why Apple wants to completely change the concept we have in mind of a keyboard in laptops. In a recent patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office entitled ‘Configurable force-sensitive input structure for electronic devices’ where it is proposed to eliminate any type of mechanical system.
This system proposed by Apple would replace the current mechanism that responds to touch to a series of sensors that respond to the pressure that users can apply. In the keyboard space that MacBook now have, a large panel would be included where virtual keys would be displayed. This surface could deform in response to pressure through an activation layer and a capture layer.
The response would be generated as soon as the user presses the virtual key with a threshold force, sending signals to the entire system. This technology must be differentiated from having a keyboard on a touch panel. With this second, you would get an experience similar to the one you have when writing on an iPad and this is what Apple does not want.
With this deformable keyboard, the user would notice a displacement of the key and would receive feedback, and would keep the keyboard shortcuts on Mac among other functions.
If in the end it continues down this path, the construction materials of the Macs will have to vary since plastics would have to be used. Metal in this case would not be an option since it does not have a very optimal deformation capacity but it would already alter the general aesthetics of the device.
Will this technology end up arriving?
One of the big questions that can arise about patents is whether or not they will end up reaching the products. It should be noted that it is a patent originally filed in 2017 and the only thing that indicates is that Apple’s research branch is looking for alternatives to its keyboards.
Development unfortunately is not something that can be done overnight and it takes time. By this we mean that although there is a possibility that this technology will eventually reach the market, it will not be soon.
A change as revolutionary as the patented one must be studied in depth and is likely to end up in a drawer as a failed idea. It would not be the first or the last Apple patent that remains in no man’s land since it must be understood that putting it on paper can be easy but putting it into reality is more complicated.
