Apple he has filed a patent which he inserts Apple Pencil where he had once placed the Touch Bar of the MacBook Pro. A solution that would allow Apple users to easily carry the stylus with them, while eliminating the row of function keys.
Apple Pencil replaces the Touch Bar on MacBooks
The news comes from Patently Apple, a newspaper specialized in finding and analyzing new patents filed by the Cupertino company. The patent in question explains that the Apple Pencil could become a winning alternative to do from aiming system instead of a mouse, especially in motion. To always have it with you, the Apple would be willing to sacrifice the row of function keys just below the screen.
To hold the stylus in place, there would be a magnetic sensor. Which would hold the Pencil firm when not needed, and then take advantage of the touchscreen if necessary.
Apple had created a similar concept some time ago, but it seems that this time around it has paid more attention to the materials and sensors it would like to include in the device. Symptom that the Apple is really considering the hypothesis of a MacBook touchscreen. Something that the founder Steve Jobs had defined “ergonomically terrible”.
But times change and it seems that there are several Apple users who would be interested in this technology. The ability to insert the Pencil above the keyboard could make it easy to carry the stylus, a limitation that many laptops with touch screens have. It also appears that Apple is planning to use Apple Pencil also as a Touch Bar when it remains in the body, although the patent does not go into detail on how this option would work.
As always, the patents do not mean that Apple is actively building or testing a laptop like the one hypothesized in the drawings. We may never see a MacBook touchscreen. But we know that at least in Cupertino they are thinking about it.