Apple is investigating the prospect of embedding a fully functional Mac into a keyboard, similar to the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computers of the 1980s.
The idea was disclosed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in a new Apple patent application titled "Computer in an input device," which outlines a thicker Magic Keyboard-style chassis with "all the components of a high speed computer" incorporated under the hood.
The patent details the basic concept for such a device, which may be linked into a separate external display through a single I/O connector intended to receive both data and power and wirelessly coupled with a trackpad or mouse for extra input.
Although portable computing devices, such as laptops and tablets, can be docked at an office or home-office station with a secondary display to provide a computing experience similar to that of a desktop computing device, these devices still require an additional set of input devices to mimic that of a desktop computing device. Furthermore, when devices such as laptops and tablets are docked to a station with a secondary display, the primary display is typically not used, thereby adding additional bulk and cost to such portable computing devices.
The computing devices disclosed herein can include or otherwise house one or more computing components within an input device to provide a portable desktop computing experience everywhere there are one or more computer displays. For example, instead of carrying a whole laptop or a tower and keyboard, a user can pack a keyboard that contains a computer. Because some form of an input device is frequently required for interacting or interfacing with a computing device, including computing components within an input device's housing or enclosure can eliminate the need for redundant sets of input devices and reduce the number of components that the user must transport.
Apple says that by incorporating the computer components into the keyboard, a user will be able to carry a single device that can give a desktop computing experience at any place with one or more external screens.
In certain versions, the device contains a trackpad "connected" to the enclosure, whilst in others, the device is foldable and the keyboard area comprises a "accessory display" displaying graphics, or the keyboard itself is virtually presented from an enclosed projector.
The remainder of the patent delves into alternative configurations of internal computer components inside the area provided by the keyboard chassis in great depth.
Apple has previously filed keyboard patents, including one that proposes using a touchscreen display similar to the Touch Bar that spans over the full keyboard layout, but this is the first patent to propose actually embedding a computer inside the keyboard itself.
The technology, like any filed patent, is unlikely to appear in any product soon, if at all, but it does provide an interesting look at how Apple is considering Mac designs that could eventually replace or be offered alongside the Mac mini, which allows users to bring their own display, keyboard, and mouse.
