Apple has patented a system that allows you to transform a keyboard key of an MacBook Pro in a mouse. The newly patented “Deployable Key MouseEnhances a similar idea presented to March 2022: it seems that a lot of work is being done on this concept in Cupertino.
Apple patents a keyboard for MacBook Pro with one key that becomes a mouse
La Mela has patented a project that allows you to turn a button into a mouse, and it’s not even the first. In Cupertino, a team of engineers continuously works to develop new ways to interact with the keyboard and mouse. In particular, the prolific Paul X. Wang he presented several projects in addition to this, including one glass keyboard.
In short, it is not certain that we will ever see this product on a MacBook Pro: Apple prefers to patent for security and rather discard later if the idea doesn’t like it. But the concept sounds pretty cool this time around.
A pull-out button becomes a really small mouse. “The pull-out button may have a positioning sensor” so that it is “operable as a computer pointing device”.
Such a device could be more accurate than a trackpad (although those in MacBooks are particularly accurate). But it would also be extremely small. In addition to forcing the Apple to potentially leave greater thickness to the keyboard and increase the total volume of laptops.
Furthermore, as the patent points out: “A mouse typically has an ergonomic shape to fit comfortably in the hand. Which is one of the factors that it has kept its dimensions relatively unchanged over the years “.
So the future for this technology doesn’t necessarily look bright. But it could become an extra option to include in MacBook Pros, designed for professionals. Nobody prevents you from using the trackpads. But if you want a little extra mouse, theor found in the keyboard.