Apple Reportedly Releasing Thinner MacBook Possible With This Game-Changing Technology

Apple has faced a lot of criticisms in the past because of the butterfly switch keyboard of the MacBook. The Cupertino tech company solved this issue by ditching the problematic keyboard and switching it to Scissor-type. Interestingly, a recently published Apple document reveals that Apple is not yet done improving the keyboard of the MacBook and plans to develop a retractable one.

Patently Apple recently obtained an Apple document, which could reveal the company's plan for its premium laptop. The patent application contains a new technology the Cupertino tech giant considers to be able to create a keyboard that retracts. Additionally, this keyboard lowers into the base of the MacBook’s body whenever the user closes the laptop.

Based on the Apple patent, the technology would allow the MacBook to change its position along with its assemblies and keyboards when the lid is closed. Because of this, the Cupertino tech giant could develop a much thinner MacBook. The Apple patent discusses how the keys on the premium laptop could be moved from a neutral position to a retracted one and vice versa.

This movement is possible because of the mechanical or magnetic linkage elements configured to reposition stabilizers and keycaps between different positions. The Apple patent application is titled “Retractable Keyboards” and credits five inventors. Among them is Houtan R. Farahani, who earlier is involved with a patent about “Enclosure Features for a Portable Computing Device.”

The recently filed patent application is different from the earlier patent filed by the Cupertino-based tech giant. Interestingly, the previous patent talks about the possibility of reducing the thickness of the keyboard on Apple’s premium laptop. The earlier application considers keyboards with no physical or mechanical keys.

The current generation of MacBook Pro is thin compared to standard laptops available in the market. A new and thinner MacBook with a retractable keyboard is a welcome change for fans. The U.S. Patent Office released the Apple patent just recently but the company submitted the document in the third quarter of 2019. A MacBook with a retractable keyboard and thinner size is interesting to see. However, whether the Cupertino tech giant will make it available to the consumers in the future is still unknown.