Apple patents keyboard with dynamically changing key features

Apple may be preparing to reinvent the keyboard.

In a patent application that was approved Tuesday, just below the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the 2020 filing, Apple describes a keyboard whose keys fit the task.

For example, the default alphanumeric layout can be converted into a task-specific view in which keys can be used to perform functions. Audio recording enthusiasts can turn their keys into triggers that adjust volume, speed and various special effects. Photo editing programs can assign tools to individual keys and multiple key combinations.

The patent indicates that variable key functions will be indicated by “dynamic labels”. According to a summary posted this week by patentlyapple.com, these labels can be generated using dynamically reconfigurable labels that display components such as organic light emitting diode displays with pixel arrays, electrophoretic screens with pixel arrays, or other pixel arrays. “

Currently, users can insert silicone placemats on top of their keyboards that indicate software functions using key combinations. But some complain that the carpets have an unnatural feeling when they type, that they have to press harder on the keys and that they cannot type as quickly with the covers.

Apple’s proposed dynamic keys provide visual and potentially tangible feedback without compromising the normal typing experience.

The dynamic keys can be used not only with different work tasks, but also with games. The customizable keyboards would instantly adapt to the required features of each game.

Another practical application is to enable users to swap keyboard languages ​​from English to, for example, Chinese or Hebrew.

According to patentlyapple.com, the keys may be glass, ceramic, polymer or sapphire.

The patent was filed under the strange wording: “Electronic devices with keys with coherent fiber bundles.”

Apple files hundreds of patents annually, many of which never see the light of day in practice.

Apple has focused its attention on keyboards a number of times over the years. Its launch in 2015 of ‘butterfly’ keys on MacBooks, which abandoned the scissor-like structure long used under each key, was greeted with a lack of enthusiasm. Users have complained that keys get stuck, some have caused unintentional multiple prints and others do not respond at all. Apple kept the keyboard until 2019 despite large numbers of complaints from consumers.

One creative user who has been familiar with writing a song for over a decade wrote a parody on the keyboard issue in 2017 titled ‘I Am Pressing the Spacebar and Nothing Is Happening’.

Apple filed a lawsuit in May 2019, and after apologizing to affected users, Apple introduced a free recovery program to all MacBook users.

In November, Apple received a patent to bring Force Touch to the MacBook Touch Bar. Force Touch uses sensors to analyze click pressure and determine which finger is being used. The keyboard performs different functions depending on the finger used and the pressure applied. It uses a Taptic Engine to give physical feedback to the user through vibrations.

A patent was also issued this year for an Apple keyboard that is magnetically attached to a portable device.

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