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The benchmarks and raw processing power of Apple’s new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops have been eaten up by geekerati, Tim Cook’s slow and methodical strategy means that the new MacBooks are physically no different than MacBooks. Intel-based that launched in early 2020.
There is still no Buck Rogers for your money, although the potential is there. And that potential has grown once again.
November 12, 2019, US, New York: The new MacBook Pro, recorded at an Apple presentation in New York, … [+]
dpa / picture alliance via Getty Images
New details have been released on what Apple is considering for its laptops. In a patent titled “Device with Integrated Interface System,” Apple details a new style of keyboard that could be detachable and have capacitive touch sensors, as well as a wireless charging pad for recharging portable devices. Jack Purcher reports, starting with the keyboard:
“… a possible futuristic MacBook that includes a transparent dielectric input surface integrated with the device case that could be at least partially formed of glass, ceramic and / or plastic. The design will allow the MacBook face to support a virtual keyboard or a physical keyboard that can be magnetically aligned and attached to the keyboard area. The keys could also receive touch input so that the user could draw a line or other figure simply by touching the screen in touch mode. “
The patent is based on techniques and methods previously published in September 2020. It is clear that Apple’s R&D team is working towards a clear vision for next-generation hardware.
Looking at the rest of Apple’s portfolio of devices, you can see the other side of the coin. The iPhone range has offered wireless charging capabilities for some time, but the iPhone 12 family upped the ante by adding magnetic capture under the recycled ‘MagSafe’ brand. This could possibly allow any MacBook to only offer MagSafe charging and limit you to Apple and Apple-approved accessories.
If Apple is building its own wireless charging garden, it makes sense to put the MacBook platform into play.
In terms of the keyboard, macOS has remained resolutely cool to the touch against countless Windows 10 laptops that support touch. Touch is obviously there on iOS and iPadOS, which has made running iPhone and iPad apps on M1-powered Mac machines an interesting experience with the mouse-based system.
I don’t see that point of view changing (although I would love for it to happen), but Apple make tap on your Macs in the form of a Touch Bar. The idea of stretching that Touch Bar down to act like a full keyboard is a powerful vision. While many will miss the keyboard (hence the accessory for something a bit more physical), generations are growing up with ‘first touch input’ on mobile devices.
Tim Cook does not like radical movements, but the ideas presented in these papers combine both cutting-edge ideas with long-standing technology. Now that the hardware inside the Mac has changed significantly, it’s time for the exterior design to play its part in redefining what it means to be a MacBook and what it could mean to be a laptop.
Now read more about Apple’s plans for its new Macs in 2021 …
