Last month, Apple patented a new version of the Touch Bar with integrated Force Touch technology. The US Patent & Trademark Office has now granted Apple a patent for a “reconfigurable” Mac keyboard that is built with a small display for each key, allowing the keyboard to show different characters according to the user’s preferences.
While the idea may sound like the Touch Bar currently does, this new keyboard would work in a different way. The physical keys would still be there, but the patent shows that the keys on this new keyboard contain a super small screen for each key instead of regular engraved labels.
As pointed out by Patently Apple, the patent reveals a keyboard with dynamic labels generated by organic light emitting diode displays with pixel arrays. These displays are not expected to have high resolution or other sophisticated specifications, as they should focus on displaying basic characters.
This would allow users to configure different keyboard layouts that also change the key labels – such as a specific layout for games, programming or video editing. Apple could also create a single keyboard model for use worldwide, as the keys on this new keyboard would be able to display different characters based on users’ settings.
The user may, for example, wish to switch a keyboard between a first format (for example, an English language format) and a second format (for example, a Greek language format). In response to user input to switch the keyboard, the control circuit on an electronic device can adjust the key labels displayed on the key screens from English letters to Greek letters, thus changing the keyboard from the first format to the second format.
The patent illustrations reveal that Apple considers using this new technology for both the built-in keyboards found in MacBooks and for independent keyboards developed for Mac desktops, such as iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro.
Keep in mind that Apple frequently files new patents, so it does not necessarily mean that these features or technologies will be added to a real product in the future. However, these specific patents are an indication that the company is at least working on some new things to improve its physical keyboards – which have gone through a lot in recent years.
Would you be interested in a new keyboard with reconfigurable keys for your Mac? Let us know in the comments below.
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