Last month, Apple patented a new version of the Touch Bar with built-in Force Touch technology. Now the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent for a ‘reconfigurable’ Mac keyboard built with a small screen for each key, which allows the keyboard to display different characters according to the user’s preferences.
While the idea may sound like what the Touch Bar is currently doing, this new keyboard will 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 display for each key instead of regular engraved labels.
As pointed out by Apple Patent, the patent discloses a keyboard with dynamic labels generated by organic light emitting diode screens with pixel arrays. These screens are not expected to have high resolution or other fine specifications as it should focus on displaying basic characters.
It allows users to set up different keyboard layouts that also change key labels, such as a specific layout for games, programming, or video editing. Apple can also create a single keyboard model that can be used worldwide, as the keys of this new keyboard can show different characters based on user settings.
For example, the user may want to switch a keyboard between a first format (for example, an English format) and a second format (such as a Greek format). In response to user input to switch the keyboard, the circuitry in an electronic device can adjust the key labels displayed by the key displays from English letters to Greek letters, thus switching the keyboard from the first format to the second format.
The patent illustrations show that Apple is considering using this new technology for both the built-in keyboards found in MacBooks and the standalone keyboards built for Mac desktops, such as iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro.
Keep in mind that Apple often registers new patents, so this does not necessarily mean that these features or technologies will be added to an actual product in the future. However, these specific patents are an indication that the company is at least working on new things to improve its physical keyboards – which have gone through a lot in the last few years.
Would you be interested in a new keyboard with resettable keys for your Mac? Let us know in the comments below.
FTC: We use revenue to earn automatically affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: