Apple MacBook Refresh Could Bring E-Ink Enabled Keyboard (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes from a report via HotHardware: Apparently Apple has been working on some unique upgrades to its MacBook line, and not just underneath the hood. One of the bigger feature upgrades could actually be in the keyboard. As previously rumored, the new MacBook Pro is likely to sport a secondary touchscreen display at the top of the keyboard. It will sit in place of where the Function keys used to reside and display different graphics and icons, depending on the program that's up and running. However, according to an anonymous reddit user named "Foxconninsider," Apple's also planning to launch a new version of its Magic Keyboard -- one that takes advantage of E-Ink technology. Similar technology was developed by a start-up company named Sonder, the same company Apple is in the process of acquiring. What the tipster describes is each key having its own E Ink display. That means individual keys and/or entire rows can change based on whatever app is loaded. In any event, we should know more soon -- Apple's expected to announce new MacBook products later this month.

Comments

That would help logistics too

[OpenSourced]

The only part of a laptop that has to be changed for each country is the keyboard, hampering logistics. If you can have a software-configurable keyboard, that would help reduce costs for unsold laptops, stock breaks, etc. Even in no application ever uses the facility, just that advantage should be enough, once you get to the right price-durability-functionality combo.

Also the resale value would be increased, as you can now sell it in any country.

Re:That would help logistics too

[AmiMoJo]

They used to do this back in the day with normal printed key caps, but it was unpopular because in many languages they ended up with blank keys. For example some Amiga models had two blank keys and a note in the box explaining that they were for Europe wide standardization and should be ignored.

Japanese keyboards have three extra keys on the bottom row, making the space bar really small.

Another issue is that some keys are different shapes in different countries. In the UK the return key is tall and kind of apostrophe shaped, where as in the US it is a bar.

I'm sure Apple could do it anyway, by being courageous or something and revolutionizing the keyboard by forcing everyone to use a new Apple custom layout. They will probably remove superfluous keys like Caps Lock, CTRL, ESC and J.

Re:That would help logistics too

[AmiMoJo]

People rarely need to type J. If you need it, you can just say "hay Siri, type J for me" and she will respond "okay Dave, I'm typing J for you." You can even follow it up with "son of a... hay Siri, type a lowercase j for me!"

Alternatively you can get a J key dongle for only $29.95. Of course you will also need a USB-C hub/charging dongle if you want to plug in at the same time. You have to admire their courage.

Re:what's the point with e-ink keys

[Chrisq]

They're Mac users. They're probably hunter-peckers.

I've heard that about Mac users ... or was it pecker hunters....?

Re:what's the point with e-ink keys

[worf_mo]

I live in a trilingual area. When you buy a computer you have to decide which layout you will be most typing in and then stick with that. For many people who need to switch a lot between languages it would be nice to be able to set and see the keyboard layout according to the language used, like one can do on mobile phones and tablets. The same goes for shared computers at home (bilingual family here), in offices or on production floors.

Personally, I use Apple's english international keyboard layout as that gives me full access to the characters needed when coding, while allowing me to generate special characters (accentuated, grave, acute, umlauts) easily enough when needed, and I can't see myself switching keyboard layouts for different tasks.

Some other possible points:

- Applications with particular needs can offer special keybindings and display them on the keyboard directly.

- Some manufacturers sell their laptops only with the "national layout" - people who want that brand have to buy a new keyboard with the desired layout and then switch their laptop's keyboards (potentially voiding the warranty).

- Logistics for the manufacturer - it is no longer necessary to have different keyboard layouts for the major languages. That depends on the cost of the keyboard, though.

Re:Sounds Familiar

[mlts]

I was assigned a Lenovo X1 Carbon with the e-Ink display above the F-keys at a previous job. Needless to say, I was glad to turn that laptop in the day I left.

First, the geniuses at Lenovo decided that the Caps Lock key was not useful, so assumed people would be happy to hold down the Shift key for a few seconds. The caps lock key was replaced by the Home and End keys, and the backtick/tilde key was moved by the right Alt key. This made trying to do basic Linux system administration a PITA. Reaching for the escape key resulted in flipping the E-ink display to a different set of items than the F keys.

There are many things to improve on. Dinking around and moving often used keys is not an improvement. Companies keep trying to do that, be it Compaq where the space bar was cut in half, giving a large backspace key. There might be some compromises, such as locating the arrow keys somewhere different, but changing the fundamental layout of a keyboard doesn't do much other than annoy people, forcing them to have to use a USB or BlueTooth keyboard in order to get work done.

Of course, there was the implementation of the e-Ink bar. It made reaching for a F key annoying, because you were used to hitting a key, not tapping plastic, and with the escape key moved, half the time, it meant you had to tap the bar to get it to the set of function keys.

Decent idea, poor implementation, and it hindered things more than it helped, especially with critical keys moved around willy-nilly.