[kscherer]

Now this is intriguing. A Mac inside a keyboard.

I mean, as powerful and low-profile as the M1 system is, there is absolutely nothing that would make this difficult to pull off. The entire computer inside the MacBook Air is about 2x6 inches, and there is no need for a fan. The crazy thing could have a battery, the computer, and maybe even decent speakers.

Perhaps an Apple TV would function as a wireless monitor? Or it would have a couple USB-C ports to connect to an external display? I could envision a model with an attached trackpad so one would only ever have to drag around a keyboard and maybe an adapter or two.

I like the idea.

[psmith2.0]

I've thought about this for years, well before the Air and other things showed how small Mac guts can be.

The tech/ability is now there to do such a thing, even if "only" MacBook Air levels of performance. But that's nothing to sneeze at. Only thing is, the usual "but if x goes back, then you're out the whole y", but their standalone keyboards seem to be solid and problem-free, so...

Trying to think of the true need, use for one vs. a MacBook Air (or Mac mini), but I'm sure there are some.

Definitely a couch-friendly type of thing to where your TV becomes your display? You're not going to sit there and do high-end retouching or video work (I wouldn't think), but for other stuff. But, again, I keep going back to "well, get an iPad or MacBook Air".

If there's a definite, sure-fire situation where such a product would make sense and really make an impact, I'm all for it. Right now it's just a neat idea, brought about by how small/powerful things can be now.

[709]

It would have to fold in half for portability, maybe utilizing that keyless keyboard tech that Apple filed on a few years back, but yeah, I could dig it.

[turtle]

I'm loving the idea personally. I mean, Raspberry Pis can do it so I see no reason Apple can't make it awesome.

The logic board can be manipulated to fit easily and yet be hella-powerful.

[PB PM]

Apple is rumored to be making a folding iPhone, so a folding keyboard Mac is totally feasible.

[Matsu]

My first thoughts were that a spill would be an easy way to brick this thing, but it's probably a trivial matter now to seal up an all solid state system on chip device. I think it needs some form of on-board pointer though: a trackpad, or a nub, or some sort of touch sensitivity across the keyboard surface itself. At least it needs something like that for couch potato mode.

Though not really Apple-y as I understand them, it's kinda intriguing.

[chucker]

This is essentially what the Apple IIc was. Heck, a lot of "home computers" from that era were like that (a computer underneath/behind/integrated with the keyboard), such as the Commodore 64.

No doubt Apple can pull it off and make it look nice, but I don't really buy that they're working on it. Exploring it in prototypes and making patents, sure. Same as for folding computers. Real interest in making it a product? I'm skeptical.

[psmith2.0]

I’ve thought about this since the thread started. I don’t see why I would buy this sort of Mac over a mini or Air. Or even an iPad.

The actual benefit/purpose, beyond “cool” or clever.

Usually I’m all over this kind of thing, but this - and the folding stuff - flies straight over me for some reason.

[chucker]

So, here's a possible explanation on why they explored this. Let's go back five and a half years, to the introduction of the Touch Bar.

[ int. meeting room at Apple Park that doesn't look nearly as polished as you might expect ]
Design Person A: OK, but how do you do a Touch Bar on a stationary computer?
Design Person B: Easy, you add it to the external keyboard!
A: OK, but then the keyboard is suddenly $399. Who's gonna pay that?
B: What if we add an entire computer?
A: And then they, what, connect the $6000 Pro Display XDR that we haven't announced yet?
B: Oh, right. We need a monitor story!

And then, nothing. They got a lot more negative feedback on the Touch Bar than they expected, so they killed this KeyMac (Mackey?). And the monitor.

But if they had done that, they could've justified making the keyboard-that-is-also-a-computer $999. Because it's a whole computer, you see! Like a Mac mini, but with a built in keyboard. And the Touch Bar!

But in today's world, the Touch Bar is basically dead. And the monitor is still a non-show.

[Frank777]

A Mac inside a keyboard, a 20-inch touchscreen Mac/iPad, a folding iPhone.

Did someone leave the door open at a Cupertino R&D facility, and a janitor saw a way to get rich selling info to rumour sites?

I mean, does anybody really believe that Apple, generally conservative in design and who strives to be best not first, is going to debut all this stuff?

Can I get in on this? I hear the next AppleTV is going to come with a built-in projector, and no HDMI ports!

Then this built-in projector will debut in the back of the Keyboard Mac Mini.
Meaning that you can buy the one box and get the Mac, Keyboard and Screen. It's the new All-in-One! For $699!

[chucker]

I'm honestly not sure why Tim Hardwick chose to publish the story. It's really just one Apple patent among… many, many, many.

[Matsu]

They have a lot of money and can probably afford to take deeps dives on different design directions just to see how things could work in the flesh, without any intention of mass producing the concept itself, just to learn something new or refine a single facet, or if really lucky, accidentally discover something about the way their products are or could be used and how people interact with them.

I imagine some time is being spent on sussing out where macOS and iOS converge and where they don’t. Wouldn’t be amiss to explore hardware convergence either.

[kscherer]

I have zero expectations that this thing exists outside of a patent drawing and maybe, *maybe*, a prototype.

BUT!

I can sort out how it would look and work, and what it would be called:

Mac mini!

It would just be a keyboard with a built-in trackpad and a couple USB-C ports. It would talk to a display over AirPlay, and that would be it. It would have a 12-hour+ battery and charge with a 61W power supply (from the 13" MB Pro). The thing would be part of a large push into wireless display technology.

And, because Apple has forgotten how to make stand-alone displays, it will never work, because no one is going to buy this thing for $799-ish and an Apple TV.

Apple can definitely pull this off, but I don't think there's much of a market beyond the tech-nerd crowd and the "shiny/new" crowd. It would sell well for 3 months and then the gotta-have-its would be tapped out and sales would die. I like the idea, but I'm having a hard time putting it together without an accompanying AirPlay monitor that isn't >$1000.

By the way, I had an Apple II+ and it was just a keyboard with some computer bits beneath/behind. So this is nothing new.