Apple patents haptic virtual keyboard for laptops

Apple has filed a patent for a virtual keyboard with haptic feedback that can be displayed on a surface that is part of a laptop. In addition, such a surface could be integrated into a separate keyboard.

The display of the virtual keyboard can be adjusted according to the application of the user, according to the patent application about which Patently Apple writes. For example, these keys for volume control and skipping songs could display large on the touch-sensitive surface. In addition, an illustration accompanying the application points to the possibility of having a trackpad surface surrounded by keys on a laptop.

Apple is not only thinking of using it in combination with laptops, but also for keyboards for tablets and for separate keyboards. The surfaces of the input devices would be capacitive coated to determine the force and location of the keystroke and to link the display and functions to it and provide haptic feedback.

Apple has made the keyboards of its MacBook laptops thinner over several generations, and the company may be thinking of a virtual keyboard as the next step. Some users complain about the butterfly keys of the latest generation of MacBook Pros that dust can cause the keys to malfunction and the keys are not easy to remove. Virtual keyboards would not have this kind of problem. The technology described in the patent application also seems to be a continuation of the Touch Bar: an OLED strip on MacBook Pros whose display of the buttons adapts to the applications that the laptop is running.

Acer and Lenovo, among others, previously released laptops and tablets with a touchscreen instead of the keyboard. These had no haptic feedback.