Apple patent documents show proposed MacBook with attachable turntable
The document outlines “modularised computing and input devices”.
Image: Apple
An Apple patent document filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office on 25 July this year appears to outline prospective “modularised computing and input devices”.
In the file, drawings show a MacBook-like device with switchable parts, including what appears to be an attachable turntable.
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In the document, Apple summarises the proposed product in an abstract which states: “A computing device can be reconfigurable to include one or more electrical devices in various configurations.
“The computing device can include a base forming an input surface configured to receive user input. The base can receive one or more input devices, such as, displays or keyboards.”
Later on in the document, it also reads, “In some examples, one or more other input devices can be positioned at the input surface of the base, such as, one or more displays, knobs, switches, buttons, turntables, or other input devices.”
Drawings shown throughout propose a range of interchangeable attachments such as an iPad-like drawing surface, dual screens, and keyboards, some of which appear to be stackable.
Apple is yet to comment on this document publicly, and the brand has filed documents such as this one before with products that are yet to see the light of day. Back in April, the US Patent & Trademark Office granted a patent to the brand for AirPods cases featuring a built-in interactive touchscreen with an Apple Watch-esque interface.
The papers filed listed various app functionalities for the interactive display such as maps, weather, movies, messaging, radio as well as voice commands, which should indicate Siri functionality for interacting with apps.
Apple’s M3 Macs, however, are currently rumoured to land this October. Apple expert Mark Gurman said earlier this year that Apple was working on a number of new iMac models that would feature its next-gen M3 silicon, and that they were at a “late stage” of development. The new chipset will potentially offer higher performance and power.
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