MacBook Touch? Apple patent shows touch screen MacBook
Apple may be working on a MacBook Touch, and will integrate high resolution touch screens into future Apple hardware, according to a recently discovered Apple patent. The information is pretty straightforward, as Patently Apple puts it “There’s no wishy-washy lingo about it” since the patent specifically names a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air:
one of the prime target products for such a new display is a touchscreen based MacBook as shown below in patent FIG.3. Later in the patent under patent point 46, Apple clarifies that FIG. 3 could be a MacBook, MacBook Pro and/or MacBook Air.
The patent also suggests that the MacBook and MacBook Pro will soon have the same high-resolution IPS display that is featured on the iPad, iPhone 4, and the latest iMac. Upgrading the screens seems like a no brainer to me, but it’s the touch screen and it’s applications that make this news. Perhaps even more interesting than just a MacBook Touch (yes I just made up this name), the patent also indicates that the touchscreen technology could apply to a television and gaming system.
Of course this is all speculative and should certainly be branded as a rumor for now, but it sounds like Apple has a lot up there sleeves! You have to imagine something like this is quite a ways off from release (if ever) considering the current versions of Mac OS X are not nearly as touch friendly as iOS. Maybe we’ll start to see touch features in Mac OS X 10.7?
If you’re a patent geek or you just want to see the full scoop, head over to Patently Apple where you can see all the details, some more drawings, and all the abstract patent application details.
[…] in further developing touch input across the Mac product line. Previous patents have shown a touch screen MacBook, a convertible touchscreen iMac that runs both iOS and Mac OS X, and a convertible MacBook tablet […]
[…] in the year a patent for a MacBook Touch of sorts appeared, basically it was a MacBook with a touch screen, but that idea was later shot […]
apple really need to sort this out fast. have they not seen the modbook?
and early 2011 the modbook pro http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbookpro the mac touch screen already exists but apple didnt make it.
I would like to see a new feature into this computer:
We unplug the screen to have a regular iPad, and then it’s possible to re-put the screen onto the computer to have a normal macbook…
Another cool feature: (airscreen)
when the computer is into IPAD mode, (the screen is disconnected from the base macbook) the computer base can compute the stuff and stream screen content wirelessly onto the iPad . (if the base is shared through wifi)… if no base found then : it’s a normal iPad…
(of course you control the base computer streaming through the touchscreen of the Ipad mode…)
It rocks no ???
(if Apple will read that : contact me if you like this idea, I’m looking for a some Graphic Designs Jobs, or creative stuff to do…) ;) (OK, we never know… :D)
Cool crack. Thanks
[…] also describes similar OS switching functionality on a laptop. This is fresh off the heals of the MacBook Touch patent discovery that clearly demonstrates an Apple laptop with a high resolution touch […]
Interesting stuff! A touch screen on a computer may not be the better way to improve output and usability (try to raise your hand all day long…), but it could be the step to another kind of machines. Cool!
Checking out the trackpad I could not help but notice that the picture is of a really old pre-unibody MBP, so the idea has been around for some time now.
I won’t hold my breath waiting.