Keyboard design has taken a big step forward in the last couple of years. Apple 's top laptops (MacBooks) now feature a built-in fingerprint scanner and a programmable Touch Pad. However, there's a possibility that future keyboards could have a screen on each key!
This is something that could become a reality in the future. Patently Apple has discovered a patent from the company, which describes a “reconfigurable keyboard”, where each key has an “associated key display”.
“Control circuits in the keyboard may direct the key displays to display dynamically adjustable labels for the keys,” the patent application states.
This setting would allow for key response that lights up when pressed or indicates when you press the select, control, or command keys. The keyboard could also be reconfigured to better suit a gaming setup or switch from one language to another.
Apple has filed similar patents in the past, but this one is more significant because the system is designed to work with mechanical keys, meaning it could be implemented on a keyboard similar to the one Apple uses in its MacBooks. However, there's still no word on when or if that will happen.
Apple isn't the first company to think of this. Art Lebedev Studio introduced the Optimus Maximus, which had screens on each key, in 2007, but it's no longer available for purchase.
