The upcoming MacBook Pro could have a sophisticated retractable keyboard to dramatically reduce the design of Apple’s laptop. And after years of the same bulky, tired appearance, it’s time for a shake.
This idea was discovered by Patently Apple in the form of a newly granted patent, applied for by Apple in August 2019, simply titled Retractable keyboards. The objective of this patent was to explore a way to make MacBooks thinner without reducing the size of the keys, which would be a welcome change for laptops, assuming it doesn’t impede their basic functions.
Within the patent pages, we see that Apple is releasing a full-motion keyboard, where the keys sink into the body of the laptop when the lid is closed, and rise again when you open it, powered by a magnetic structure. which is physically attached to the hinge.
The last time Apple had a brilliant idea on the front of the keyboard, we ended up with the unpopular Butterfly Keyboard, which was extensively expanded and eventually replaced with the Magic Keyboard on the larger one. 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019, and in the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air at the beginning of this year.
The good news is that the patent shows keyboard layouts with traditional scissor mechanisms and butterfly mechanisms. Apple certainly wouldn’t be the first at this idea, as Lenovo had a ThinkPad Yoga in 2013 whose keys were retracted when you put that 2-in-1 in tablet mode.
A perfect storm for a big MacBook redesign
This keyboard patent isn’t the only way Apple is looking to reinvent the MacBook Pro. At its WWDC 2020 conference this week, Apple announced the introduction of Apple silicon to your Macs. Apple Silicon will be a new range of processors, using ARM architecture instead of Intel.
These new Apple chips promise to offer a better balance of performance and power usage, and could allow Apple to offer thinner and lighter designs. Apple has said its first Apple-powered silicon Mac will arrive this year, but it’s unclear whether it will be a laptop, desktop, or an all-in-one PC, as the iMac 2020 is rumored.
If Apple could take advantage of its own silicon and a retractable keyboard on the same MacBook, it could be the thinnest MacBook yet and a much better rival to sleek Windows laptops like the class-leading Dell XPS 13.
