A completely functional Mac operating system may be integrated onto a keyboard as a Mac inside keyboard, similar to the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum of the 1980s.
According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, a thicker Magic Keyboard-style chassis with “all the components of a high-performance computer” incorporated under the hood has been disclosed by Apple in a new patent application named “Computer in an input device.”
A single I/O port intended to collect data and power is described in the patent as the basis for such a device, which may be connected to an external display and used in conjunction with a wireless trackpad or mouse for additional input.
When docked at a workstation or home office station with a secondary display, portable computing devices like laptops and tablets may offer a desktop-like computing experience, but they still need an extra set of input inputs. If the laptop or tablet is connected to a station that has a secondary display, the main screen may not be utilised. This adds needless weight and expense to portable computing devices.
A portable desktop computing experience may be provided at any place with one or more computer displays by including or otherwise housing one or more computing components inside an input device. There are a number of advantages to this, such as the fact that you don’t have to take a complete laptop with you. It is common to need some type of input device in order to communicate or interface with computer devices, therefore incorporating computing components within the housing or enclosure of an input device decreases user burden by eliminating the need for multiple input devices. To further reduce prices and space, the input device may remove other components such screens when used with a standalone computer monitor.
It’s possible, according to Apple, that a person might use a single keyboard to access a desktop computer at any place that has one or more external screens.
While the trackpad is “connected” to the enclosure in certain incarnations of the device, others are foldable and the keyboard area incorporates a “accessory display” exhibiting graphics, or the keyboard itself is virtually shown from a projector included within the enclosure in other implementations.
There is a substantial portion of the patent devoted to delving into how different computer components might be arranged within a keyboard chassis.
While Apple has previously filed patents for keyboards, this is the first patent to propose putting a computer into a computer-integrated keyboard.
The technology is unlikely to emerge in any device soon, but it provides a fascinating glimpse at how Apple is exploring Mac designs that may eventually replace or be sold alongside the current Mac mini, which enables customers to bring their own display, keyboard, and mouse.