Even when Apple released its unique Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, the company was working on a more traditional keyboard arrangement more like Microsoft’s Surface. The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro didn’t launch until 2020, but Apple has continued to work on this Surface-like alternative after its release.
“Hinged Keyboard Accessory with Multiple Mounting Modes for Tablet Computing Devices,” a newly exposed patent filed in July 2020. Although the filing dates well after the Magic Keyboard was developed, the patent cites more than 40 applications dating back to 1993.
Each of these tends to cover various aspects of a tablet keyboard solution, like a slider or hinge. This latest patent describes the entire device, from the keyboard to how it can be detached when necessary.
“[This is] an accessory device for a tablet computing device, [it] may include a base portion having one or more input devices (eg, keyboard, trackpad, touchscreen display, etc.),” the patent says, For providing input to the tablet computing device.
The accessory device may include a connecting mechanism for releasably connecting the base portion of the accessory device to the tablet computing device in a variety of different mounting modes, the connecting mechanism may include an auxiliary A display for providing graphical output along the surface of the coupling mechanism.”
There is also a paragraph stating that “additionally or alternatively, the attachment mechanism may include a pen compartment for holding a stylus”. The concept depicted in the figure bears the most obvious similarity to the Surface.
But the patent drawings were never intended to be illustrations of the final product, only as aids in explaining patent claims. “[Drawings] show a system including a tablet computing device and an accessory device that can be releasably attached together in a variety of mounting modes, the base portion may include a keyboard with a set of electromechanical keys, and the attachment mechanism may be located along one side of the keyboard, and can be configured to rotatably attaching the base portion to a tablet computing device with a touch screen display.”
Some of the drawings have unmistakable Apple markings instead of Microsoft Surface. The example sketches for the tablet GUI all clearly show MacOS, not iPad OS, and not iOS. This is enough to prove that these patent images are from Apple. In addition, some of the patent drawings show an example of a Mac display that “changes when a portion of the touchscreen display is covered by the main body of the attachment device’s attachment mechanism.”
The changes shown in the picture are similar to the notch found in the recent MacBook Pro lineup. The Mac’s menu bar is lowered, the battery indicator and AirPlay/Wi-Fi icons are raised into the corners, and the gap in between is filled by this “coupling mechanism.”
Showing macOS in the iPad’s diagram is peculiar, but by itself it doesn’t conclusively prove that Apple is also considering copying the Surface, putting a Mac into a tablet.
However, this was not a one-time, accidental mistake by the patent mapper who got the clip art wrong. Drawings about the changes in the display due to the coupling mechanism show rather careful working changes. For example, there’s a picture showing the mechanism also holding an Apple Pencil in a recessed stand. Another shows the pencil being removed from the pen compartment, revealing a row of tool icons.
The patent is attributed to four inventors, including frequent contributor Paul X. Wang. His many previous patents for Apple included a projection keyboard that could be used with “Apple Glass.”