Forget the MacBook Pro, Apple reveals more ambitious plans

Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro launch will feature a number of tech advancements that will bring much of the macOS laptop’s hardware in line with most of the competition running Windows 10, but Apple is holding back. the real innovation for 2022 and beyond?

A little reminder ; with a launch slated for early November, big talking points for Apple’s new laptops include the improved M1X on-chip system, brighter and more vivid miniLED display, and a redesign of the laptop to deliver shape. slightly more wedge at the MacBook Pro.

While these are new to Apple geekers and certainly new to the macOS platform, are these features really new? Or is Apple essentially catching up with the competition? A look at the competition shows that miniLED laptops have been available since early 2020, and given the army of manufacturers, you can find countless laptop models to meet any need.

Apple of course has a unique advantage with the system on a chip, Apple’s tight integration with Apple’s operating system and applications is something Windows will always struggle with; the former boasts impressive benchmarks and raw performance, but comes with the lockdown of Apple’s ecosystem of tools and apps.

But Apple certainly foresees a future with radical laptop designs to accompany advanced silicon, and another indication that the future of Apple laptops won’t be stuck in a rut. The latest details on Apple’s R&D plans were released this week. Jack Purcher reports:

“Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an Apple patent application for a dual-screen laptop computer with an advanced interface system to replace the traditional keyboard area with an interface. Virtual morphing for various keyboard layouts or changing the virtual interface. to support games, like in a game controller. Virtual interfaces could also support new virtual buttons and glyphs that are not associated with traditional mechanical keyboards.

The patent also talks about incorporating a wireless charging space, supporting touch gestures and naturally replacing the traditional keyboard with environment-specific interfaces, personalized dive configurations for games or simulated decks for a DJ.

In essence, Apple is willing to do on the basis of traditional laptops what the iPad did for the Etch-a-Sketch.

This won’t happen with the upcoming version, but Apple has worked hard to rework the main interface of the laptop, with the above patents paired with other work for configurable labels on physical keys, a improved lighting for color effects, microdots in the chassis to highlight and label contact areas that have all been noted in the past year.

Of course, if your current laptop is running out of steam or you need a little more power for the job you need to do right now, future updates to the MacBook Pro will do the trick. But if you’re looking for a state-of-the-art laptop, there might be more to come than what the 2021 update offers.

Now read the latest Mac and iPhone titles in this week’s Apple Loop …