Rumors that Apple wants to release Mac products that are made of glass isn’t new, but a new patent filing gives us new insight into how a MacBook Air made entirely from glass might work in practice. According to a new report from Patently Apple , Apple won two new patents recently, including one for a glass housing for a future MacBook Air that could feature a virtual keyboard and touchpad. Reporting from 2023 revealed that it had patented a design for an iMac made of a sheet of glass as well.
Apparently, Apple has been working on this dersign concept since at least 2011, and these new patents indicate that these aren’t just one-off ideas, but possibly part of a trend that might one day see production.. The patents feature an electronic device housing that provides I/O functionality, meaning that the “user interface forms part of the housing and the housing receives input and/or provides output for the device.
” One or more surfaces of the housing are configured to accept or provide user input and output when the device and/or the surface(s) is actuated. The housing is, therefore, part of the system and not a separate mechanism. Despite all the fancy tech going into this glass housing that should make it more fragile, the plan seems to be enclosing and protecting the internal components, while also looking pretty.
This recent development would work nicely with a previous patent that covers finger devices, which wouldc be “used with glass-top keyboards to soften the p.