THE AppleInsider discovered this week a patent application from Apple that describes a new technology of controls that it intends to launch in the future in laptops, applying a touch sensitive surface over a metallic material. At a small energy cost, it would be possible to backlight microscopic points between the aluminum surface and the capacitive hardware below it with different simple graphics, reproducing controls that could appear, disappear and vary according to the tasks performed by the computer.
To make them appear on the surface of a notebook (in theory, these special surfaces would be in the resting areas for the hands), the user would need to perform a direct touch on them, suggesting that this technology would ignore the simple support of the wrists on the surface sensitive to touch while typing. Depending on the case, the buttons would adapt differently to the applications. The most common case would be standard iPod controls for use with iTunes or any other application. jukebox.
By associating this invention with a touch-sensitive monitor, there is a possibility that these invisible buttons will replace the trackpad in the future, but it is very remote, however, not impossible. There is an analogy with these touch sensitive controls and the screen of an iPhone, but certainly both would not use the same material for construction. Making the entire surface of a glass-based MacBook can bring other implications to users, giving the idea of ​​integrating sensitivity to touches to aluminum.
