What's Up With Apple's Wild iMac Patent?
Apple applied for a patent in 2019, which is now public record, showing a sleek, curved, all-glass iMac.
The filing is compelling mostly for one proposed functionality: a docking station for your MacBook to seamlessly connect to the larger screen.
While this likely won't come to market any time soon, it shows Apple is finally thinking outside-the-box again.
Apple has long cornered the market on essential consumer tech, but the company hasn't released something truly radical in quite some time. Could a new patent application change that?
The tech giant has come up with a design for an all-glass iMac desktop computer that features an organic curved spine. From the side, it's shaped a little bit like the letter "J." The bottom curve of the J leaves room for the keyboard and a trackpad, while the top, straight portion is all monitor.
The patent filing, "Electronic device with glass housing member," shows a device that's pretty foreign from the Macs we've seen over the last decade or so. Per the filing, LED lights, a webcam, biometric sensors, and face scanners are all on the table as potential adds to the futuristic Mac.
On the back, there's a structure jutting out from the glass frame to provide support on the back of the computer—and, we assume, this will house some of the computing components that ordinarily go in a tower. The keyboard at the bottom can be detached and the whole thing can even be folded up in case the computer needs to be moved.
But the best part by far is the docking feature. You can slide a MacBook through the small, rectangular hole near the bend in the glass display. The screen will hide behind the glass display of the iMac while the keyboard will stick out for regular use. The screen from your MacBook will then be shown on the larger iMac display. While some business computers already have a function where laptops are docked into main desktop computers, this approach is like nothing we've ever seen before.
Here's the thing about patents, though: Companies often never even have the intention of using them for the purpose that you'd think, if at all. Mostly, it's a way to lay claim to some moonshots and ensure the competition can't steal your idea, even if a company like Apple doesn't plan to use it. For example, Apple still hasn't come out with an iPhone that has a curved screen or a cylindrical mobile WiFi hotspot.
Still, some of the company's old patents do sound a bit familiar, like the iPhone with no home button, Apple Watch, and iPhone with two rear cameras. Even if this intriguing device never comes to fruition, let's hope Apple moves forward with some of the ideas in this patent. It's time to truly innovate again.
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