As with the latest iPhones, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro tend to look a lot alike. While Apple customers are impatiently awaiting a “big change” on the MacBook side, a recent patent reveals that Apple is moving forward with the project for a MacBook that would be entirely made of glass with a keyboard and a… virtual trackpad!

What if this was the MacBook of the future?

After revolutionizing the smartphone industry with the touch screen, Apple seems to want to take a new step by applying this same transition to the laptop market. The Cupertino company could soon shake up the design of MacBooks by removing physical keyboards in favor of an entirely virtual keyboard and trackpad.

Apple’s success in integrating touchscreen into smartphones marked the end of physical keyboards, once popular on devices like the BlackBerry. Currently, all smartphones on the market use touchscreens, a transition widely adopted by consumers. Apple now seems to be aiming for a similar evolution with its MacBooks and truly believes in the same success.

Apple is moving forward on the project of an all-glass MacBook with virtual keyboard

Concept

A patent recently published by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) shows that this all-glass MacBook project with a virtual keyboard has been in development for several years. Apple plans to remove physical keys entirely, which would potentially reduce the cost of manufacturing and offer an even more minimalist and modern design to its laptops.

A virtual keyboard with physical sensations

The big question is user experience. For MacBook enthusiasts, the feeling of pressing physical keys is essential and Apple is fully aware of this. So, in order to reproduce this sensation on a virtual keyboard, the company could rely on the haptic feedback that already exists on other Apple devices. Thanks to a slight vibration felt each time a virtual key is pressed, the user could have the impression of writing on a traditional keyboard.

This concept is not new to Apple. A patent filed in 2018 describes a three-pronged approach to making the experience as close to a physical keyboard as possible:

  • A flexible screen that would deform slightly when a virtual key is pressed, mimicking the sensation of depth.
  • Haptic feedback to simulate key clicks, allowing the user to feel each keystroke.
  • An electrostatic charge to recreate the feel of the key edges, providing greater precision when typing.

These combined technologies could deliver a unique user experience, where design and functionality come together to redefine the way you interact with a MacBook. A kind of new macOS.

Although this recent patent confirms that the project is still current at Apple, its introduction to the market could still take time. The company seems to want to ensure that this technology is not only reliable, but also meets all user requirements, particularly in terms of comfort, precision and security.

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