Apple patents keyboard that could turn iPad into MacBook
India Today
Apple has filed a new patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office related to a new kind of iPad keyboard accessory that has hinges and can be installed at multiple locations on the iPad.
Even though Apple has time and again tried to keep the iPad and MacBook individually distinct, their software versions beg to differ. With features such as Universal Control, the iPad and MacBook are closer than ever. However frequently Apple can dismiss the idea of them not becoming one, a new patent has revealed what exactly the company is planning.
Apple has filed a new patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office related to a new kind of iPad keyboard accessory that has hinges and can be installed at multiple locations, giving users flexibility in terms of how they want to type on the iPad. This is very similar to how you work on the MacBook, where you have flexibility in terms of the angle you want to keep your screen at. iPad, normally, has fixed angles for keyboard attachment - a sore point for people who want a MacBook-like experience on the iPad.
In the patent, the keyboard looks like an accessory with a base and a coupling mechanism. The base has the keyboard, including a set of electromechanical keys, while the coupling mechanism may either be positioned along a side of the keyboard or fixed to the tablet, converting it into a laptop. The coupling mechanism works like a dock and attaches to the iPad, covering more than 80 per cent of the area of its side. Since the attachment is flexible, you would be able to reverse the display, as well. Think of a 2-in-1.
According to the patent, the “accessory device may include a coupling mechanism for releasably coupling the base portion of the accessory device to a tablet computing device in multiple different installation modes. The coupling mechanism may define an attachment interface for retaining the tablet computing device to the base portion.”
There may also be space for the Apple Pencil that will remain magnetically connected to the iPad while getting wireless charge from it. The keyboard may also have a secondary display for alerting the user about notifications and the battery life of the iPad. But it is very unlikely for Apple to go for a feature like this. It does not hurt to imagine, right?
A keyboard that could turn an iPad into a MacBook is what many iPad users need today, but, unfortunately, it is just a patent right now. That means it is not necessary for Apple to go ahead and implement this technology even though it thinks a thing like this could actually be a game-changer.
