Apple is investigating keyboards with adaptive displays on each key

Apple is researching keyboards with small displays on the keys to dynamically change the label on each key, according to a recently granted patent application.

The submission, spotted by Apparently Apple, is entitled “Electronic Devices with Coherent Fiber Bundle Keys,” and was granted to Apple by the US Patent and Trademark Office on the last patent day of this year.

The patent explains how each key on a keyboard could have “an associated key display” connected to “control circuitry in the keyboard” via a “coherent fiber bundle”. Apple suggests that each key “be formed of a glass fiber sheet” with “opposite first and second surfaces.”

While the patent states that each key must contain a small display in order to provide the label, any compatible pixel array of which would work, OLED is the main technology Apple is putting forward. The key can be made of materials such as glass, ceramic, metal or polymer, or even crystalline materials such as sapphire.

This system would allow the entire keyboard to be “reconfigurable” with labels that can be changed as needed. The patent emphasizes that keyboards can be reconfigured “for different languages, to temporarily convert a standard keyboard into a gaming keyboard in which keys correspond to certain in-game actions, or otherwise change the behavior associated with pressing the key. keys on the keyboard. “

It is also suggested that each key could provide “visual feedback” to indicate the current state of each key, such as whether it corresponds to an uppercase or lowercase letter or an active skill while gaming.

Images in the patent suggest that the adaptive keyboard can be used in a laptop case as well as a separate keyboard for desktop computers.

Crucially, this system doesn’t interfere with the dome or scissor switches of physical keyboards. Unlike other Apple keyboard patents, such as one for a static glass keyboard or a full-size touchscreen, this proposal explicitly outlines a system that can be used with movable keys, so Apple could theoretically keep the design of its Magic Keyboard.

While patents don’t necessarily prove what Apple plans to market, they can provide an interesting insight into what the company is researching and developing. Since Apple has shown interest in adaptive keyboard displays through the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, it doesn’t seem unlikely that Apple would extend similar technology to every single key at some point in the future.