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I like my MacBook Professional, and I’ve been shopping for these laptops for not less than 15 years now. Whereas I imagine they’ve developed effectively over time and the present iteration is arms down among the best Apple has ever made, I nonetheless have two predominant considerations with the MacBook keyboard (and, in actual fact, all Apple keyboards).
The primary challenge is that the keys are made from plastic. Whereas the MacBook keyboard seems nice, shiny, and new at first, the printed characters fade and the keys get smudged over time. Even in case you’re diligent about cleansing them, the plastic will finally put on off, particularly on the most-used keys. Examples embody the precise facet of the spacebar and the A, S, W, D, and E keys.
The opposite challenge with Apple’s laptops arises when shopping for them overseas, as they won’t have the keyboard structure you favor. Whereas Apple permits you to order the proper model on-line, it might create issues for resale down the road, and even in case you mistakenly purchase a distinct keyboard model.
Fortuitously, a newly granted patent (by way of AppleInsider) might clear up each of those issues. In response to the patent, a future MacBook keyboard could possibly be made from aluminum with swappable key labels.
As a substitute of touchscreen keyboards, this design would nonetheless use a scissor-switch mechanism, however with aluminum keys as an alternative of plastic. Personally, I contemplate this patent a possible game-changer, because the keys would probably preserve their look for for much longer.
Moreover, this patent suggests you could possibly swap from an English-style keyboard to a French one, and the important thing labels would routinely replace to mirror the change.
Finally, Apple might create a MacBook that feels much more like “a single piece of aluminum” whereas additionally eliminating the necessity to ship totally different fashions to totally different nations, as one model could possibly be appropriate with all keyboard layouts.
As of now, that is only a granted patent. Nonetheless, very like the potential lens flare solution coming to iPhone Pro cameras, this might very effectively grow to be a actuality within the close to future.
