A new patent just acquired by Apple shows a new iPad keyboard that not only makes the iPad more useful but also completely transforms it into a Mac by changing the interface of the device.
The patent issued to Apple by the US Patent and Trademark Office seems to show it is a kind of hybrid device, similar to Microsoft’s Surface, a kind of MacBook with a touch screen.
The device in question is composed of a portable part with a display which is precisely the iPad, and a part that has the keyboard and the trackpad, which instead has a hook that allows it to be joined precisely with the iPad.
When the iPad is connected to this keyboard, the patent shows a screen with an interface called “macOS-Like UI”, which as such is very similar to that of macOS but re-proposed on the iPad.
Combined with iPad OS, the iPad is already a capable replacement for a laptop. This patent seems more like Apple’s twist on an existing idea than a redesign of the iPad.
It’s nice to see Apple experimenting with fresh iPad concepts, but this isn’t the first time the company has patented something incredible and exciting just to be stuck at the drawing board.
