iPad Keyboard with Touch Bar Notch
In a recent patent, Apple describes a tablet accessory with a base portion and a “coupling mechanism,” which would sit alongside a keyboard that uses electromechanical keys. Apple describes several iterations of this detachable concept, each of which gives users the flexibility to place the iPad in various orientations.
In one scenario, Apple describes a “coupling mechanism,” or a hinge, that overlaps the back panel of the tablet and has its own auxiliary display showing a custom message, battery levels, the date and times, etc. Sort of like a—dare I say it—Touch Bar for the rear panel. In a more troubling version, that secondary screen overlaps the main one.
A more traditional hinged keyboard accessory looks similar to the Surface Pro, where the tablet snaps into a keyboard attachment on the bottom edge and closes like a book. In one concept, the hinge supports additional accessories, like a camera, projectors, or microphone.
