The ultimate desktop mobility might be achieved with a Magic Keyboard with macOS built in.
One with an M1 Pro CPU and the other with the complete update to an M2 chip seem to be on tap for Mac mini upgrades this year. However, what if Apple reimagined the 2022 Mac mini and integrated the Mac’s power into a Magic Keyboard instead?
Patently According to a patent discovered by Apple, the company is at least considering these ideas. While the patent was filed in August 2020 and released this week, it illustrates a configuration where you simply need a monitor to get started.
To further limit the amount of gear you need to bring along, it could potentially come with a trackpad instead of a mouse, however images show what seems to be a Magic Mouse or Trackpad beside it, which is obviously less handy.
The notion of embedding a computer within a keyboard isn’t entirely new. In recent years, the Commodore 64 and Raspberry Pi 400 have implemented the concept.
Even so, it’s encouraging to know that a corporation of Apple’s size and technological prowess is at least considering the idea in any detail. This might be a game changer for the Magic Keyboard, since we know that the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max CPUs provide great performance with minimal power consumption (and the M1 MacBook Air is fanless).
If you have an Apple TV or an iPad, you may be able to use this to stream content wirelessly to the large screen, for example, or you may be able to use it to stream content to your iPad or your Apple TV device.
That being said, the internet is riddled with patent concepts that never materialised into a viable product, and this one may be one of them.
Even yet, it’s intriguing to see that Apple isn’t firmly entrenched in its vision for the Macs of the future. In a hotdesking workplace, where each desk has a monitor and nothing else, this may be a great method to avoid the bulkiness of laptops.