Apple will not let go of an idea where a single key on the MacBook Pro keyboard could be taken out, used as a precision mouse, and then popped back in again.
A removable key that doubles as a mouse is not intended to replace the trackpad
A removable key that doubles as a mouse is not intended to replace the trackpad
“Deployable Key Mouse,” is a newly-granted patent, yet Apple must be really serious about this idea because it was previously granted a near-identical patent for an application filed in 2022 — and in 2020.
These granted patents — all with the same title — sound less like Apple’s typical futuristic plans, though, and more a throwback to the pre-trackpad days of the 1980s.