Vratislav Holub Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad undoubtedly form an inseparable pair of accessories for Apple computers. However, Apple has been strongly criticized for the mentioned keyboard in recent years, as it has not been updated in any way for many years. A slight change came only this year with the arrival of the 24″ iMac with M1, whose Magic Keyboard can even include a fingerprint reader for the Touch ID function. Even so, it lacks a number of functions and, again, it is not such a big step forward. So what could an Apple keyboard look like for a professional iMac Pro, for example?
What are the possible changes?
The Magic Keyboard is definitely not a bad keyboard as such. Apple growers have grown quite fond of it over the past few years and rely on it every day. However, this does not mean that it is completely without errors. For example, to this day, it lacks classic backlighting, which is absolutely essential for working in the evenings, for example. Admit it yourself, could you imagine your MacBook without a backlit keyboard? Probably not. The Cupertino giant should take hold of this exact idea and incorporate it into a potential successor.
Interesting concept of Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar:
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If we also focus our eyes on the various concepts of the new generation of Magic Keyboard, we can see at a glance what the designers would most like to see. In this direction, we mean the transition from Lightning to USB-C and Touch Bar, which MacBook Pros have been using until now. The implementation of this touch surface would allow easier control of some programs, such as Final Cut Pro, in which apple users can easily move on the timeline through the Touch Bar and thus always have it in sight. Such an idea is certainly not to be thrown away and, in our opinion, it would be worth at least trying it out. On a social network Reddit there was even an interesting opinion that Apple could design the Magic Keyboard as a mechanical keyboard. So far, something similar is missing from the apple company's offer. The question would then be, what price tag would Apple give such a piece.
The future in the form of a custom layout
The future could also lie in something that Apple patented last year. It was then that he registered a patent dealing with the Magic Keyboard, the layout of which could be changed by software according to the user's preferences. In that case, each key would have a miniature display showing the currently used character. After all, in terms of functionality, it would generally resemble the current Touch Bar. But don't be fooled. It would not be a touch keyboard - it would still have traditional physical keys, only instead of engraved characters, it would be able to change them dynamically. In addition, the patent talked about the use both in the case of keyboards for MacBooks and also for separate Magic Keyboards.
Images published with the patent:
Gallery
However, it is necessary to take into account that this is just a patent, which does not necessarily mean anything. Tech giants usually register one after the other, although most of them never see the light of day. This patent can therefore be seen as a potentially possible future. In any case, the question remains how such a technology would even work in practice and whether it would be reliable.
I don't understand the effort to remove Fxx keys - (not only) I actively use them at work.
Why not make a keyboard that will have all the F keys and only a touchbar above them? That would be an ideal keyboard.