Apple fans have been begging for a touch-screen MacBook for years, especially since touch screens have become almost standard on many Windows laptops. But Apple has held firm, refusing to make that leap.
However, a new patent hints that the company might be exploring a different way to add touch-sensitive features to the MacBook Pro—just not in the way everyone expected.
Remember the Touch Bar? In 2016, Apple introduced this sleek little touch-sensitive strip above the MacBook Pro keyboard. It looked cool, but it never really took off. After seven years of mixed reactions, Apple finally ditched it in October 2023.
But the Touch Bar might have just been a stepping stone toward something more significant. The recently granted patent, with the not-so-catchy title “Portable Computer With Dynamic Display Interface,” suggests Apple is considering expanding touch functionality to almost every surface around the MacBook Pro’s keyboard.
The patent outlines a laptop where the area around the keyboard could become touch-sensitive, with different regions that could respond to your touch. Imagine having a touch-sensitive strip on either side of your keyboard and possibly more around the edges.
This setup would let you interact with your MacBook in new ways without losing the traditional keyboard. Apple is also considering reimagining the trackpad, turning it into a dynamic display that can change shape or function depending on your actions. It could be a game-changer for how we use laptops, tailoring the user interface to fit different tasks and making the MacBook Pro even more versatile.
Interestingly, the patent doesn’t mention bringing back the area where the touch bar used to be. This could be because the patent was filed in 2019 when the Touch Bar was still around, or maybe Apple has learned from the lukewarm reception it got. The Touch Bar’s biggest flaw was that it wasn’t tactile, so you couldn’t build muscle memory or navigate without looking down.
Apple seems to have thought about that, too. The new patent suggests adding haptic feedback, a way to feel when moving from one touch-sensitive area to another. This could solve the problem and make it easier to use without taking your eyes off your work.
This isn’t the first time Apple has toyed with the idea of turning the MacBook Pro’s base into something more interactive. In 2018, they got a patent for a design that would turn the entire base into a touch-sensitive surface, allowing different keyboard layouts depending on what you were doing. While patents don’t always lead to actual products, the fact that Apple keeps revisiting this concept shows they’re serious about exploring it further.
So, while we might not get a touch-screen MacBook anytime soon, Apple’s new patent suggests they’re thinking outside the box. They’re not just slapping a touch screen onto the MacBook; they’re imagining a future where the entire base of the laptop becomes a dynamic, touch-sensitive interface. It’s a bold idea that could change how we interact with our laptops, blending the best of traditional and touch-based computing.
Only time will tell if this concept will make it a natural product, but it’s clear that Apple is still pushing the boundaries of what a MacBook can be.
