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The Touch Bar Could Replace the Keyboard on Future Macbooks (cnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Apple's new patent applications hint at more touch-sensitive surfaces and virtual keyboards. From a report: In the wake of user complaints and multiple lawsuits concerning problems with the "butterfly switch" keyboard Apple has used in its laptops since 2016, the company may be developing new user interfaces that depend less on moving mechanical parts. The company has filed three new keyboard-related patents, Mashable reported on Monday. One of the patent applications describes a laptop with a digital panel where a keyboard traditionally sits. This could be interpreted as a plan to replace the conventional keyboard with technology similar to the Touch Bar -- the row of virtual, customizable buttons that Apple debuted on the Macbook Pro in 2016. The patent also includes information about sensors and haptics embedded beneath the envisioned digital panel, which would allow it to detect and respond to user inputs such as keystrokes, taps and clicks.

2 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. Are these "inventors" really that dull... by mspring · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...to never have noticed themselves the positive value of tactile feedback??? Seriously!

    1. Re:Are these "inventors" really that dull... by ortholattice · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I actually learned "touch typing" when I was young, meaning I can type while looking at the book or whatever I'm referencing, and not looking at either the screen or the keyboard. Is this even a thing anymore? It definitely requires tactile feedback, along with bumps on F and J to align my fingers to their home position. All I know is that I can type far faster than about anyone else I know. Except on a touchscreen, where my speed slows down to a snail's pace, which is why I have avoided buying a tablet.