Pretty much all laptops come with a built-in trackpad that acts as a mouse so that users won’t have to bring their own mouse when they’re out and about. However, the problem with trackpads is that they feel less precise compared to a mouse as you’re trying to use your finger to pinpoint something on the screen.
However, it seems that Apple might have an answer to that problem, and that is by hiding a mouse inside of a keycap on the keyboard. As discovered by Patently Apple, it seems that Apple has filed for a patent for something called a “Deployable Key Mouse”. What this patent suggests is that a keyboard could have a keycap that can be removed and double up as a mouse.
This means that under normal use, it would function as part of the keyboard, but in the event that the user might require more accurate pointing, they can just remove this section of the keyboard and use it as a mouse. However, we have to wonder about its effectiveness given how tiny it is.
With a keycap being so small, how accurate or functional as a mouse can it really be, and wouldn’t users be better off using the trackpad instead? It is possible that maybe it could be useful on a device like future iterations of the Magic Keyboard iPad accessory, but in any case, we have no idea if Apple ever plans to make this a reality.
Filed in . Read more about Keyboards, Mouse and Patent. Source: patentlyapple