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By Malcolm Owen
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 at 5:25 am PT (8:25 am ET)
Apple is still exploring ways to make the iPhone and iPad work more closely with MacBooks, including a system where an iOS device is inserted into a MacBook shell as a display or a replacement trackpad with a screen.
Granted Tuesday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, the simple "electronic accessory device" patent suggests how an iPhone, iPad or other device could be added to a MacBook device. Effectively device, the shell would require the insertion of an iOS device to work, effectively extending the ease of use of the smartphone or tablet in the world of laptops.
AppleInsider previously reported on the initial application of this specific patent, which was filed at the USPTO on September 20, 2016.
The shell is designed to appear as a MacBook, with keyboard and aluminum case, but with missing sections to accommodate a mobile device. For an iPhone, the trackpad area would be hollowed out for the device to be inserted, while the iPad version would eliminate the display, the iPad itself becoming the "portable" screen.
Although the shell has most of the hardware required to function as a notebook, including an additional graphics processor to drive the display, ports and other internal components next to its external appearance, the cavity sections would include connectors to power the host device, probably through an additional battery in the case or through an intermediate load, as well as to communicate with other components.
Not only would it act as a host, but the iPhone or iPad would also work as a full touch interface, the iPhone behaving like a trackpad and the iPad becoming the touch screen of a MacBook.
Apple applies for many patents on a weekly basis, and its publication by the USPTO does not guarantee that the concepts described in the data repositories will appear on consumer devices.
So far, Apple has not made any progress on the combination of its iOS and MacBook lines, and nothing indicates that it will change anytime soon. It is likely that the company wants to keep the product lines separate, while those who want to turn an iPad or iPad Pro into a laptop already have many accessories and keyboard cases that can provide similar features, such as Smart lines. Apple Keyboard. .
Apple is not the only one to have used a smartphone in combination with a laptop. At CES 2018, gaming device producer Razer introduced Project Linda, a conceptual notebook with a space to insert a Razer brand Android smartphone into the trackpad area.
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