It is possible that Apple is working on a Mac that fits within a keyboard, but patents don’t usually lead to real goods.
According to Patently Apple (via 9to5Mac), this is based on a patent titled Computer in an Input Device. With a keyboard, you get all the essential components: CPU, memory and storage.
If you need a computer anywhere, you can connect this keyboard into a monitor and boot up macOS while you’re away from home or the workplace. Just like the Mac mini, but smaller.
According to an Apple Magic Keyboard patent, a computer may be built within the keyboard.
The control of heat
This implies that there will be limitations in terms of performance, local storage, and so on, since everything is packed onto a keyboard. However, it’s likely to enough for routine computer jobs. In the end, smartphones have a lot of power.
According to the patent, the keyboard’s interior components might be made of materials that are particularly intended to disperse heat. Considering how closely the devices are crammed together, some kind of airflow control would undoubtedly be required.
An integrated trackpad is also stated in the patent application, which would eliminate the need for a separate mouse. If this is one of those patents that ultimately makes it to market, we’ll have to wait and see.
An examination of the advantages of mobile computing
As anybody who had a Sinclair ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64 can tell you, keyboards with built-in computers are nothing new. In the present day, these keyboards are able to be made smaller and lighter than ever before.
There’s no integrated display, but the trade-off is that you just have to find place for a keyboard in your suitcase instead of having to find room for a laptop. When you get at your destination, you’ll still need to locate a monitor or television.
These little computers that you can carry from room to room, office to office, or anywhere else have shown a lot of promise, as the Mac mini and numerous others have shown. There will be no loss of data or applications if you relocate.
However, the Magic Keyboard may need some more size to accommodate a whole computer within, since Apple currently manufactures keyboards of its own Even if it can just do the most basic functions like emailing and accessing the web, it will still appeal to a large number of people.