Concept Imagines What a Dynamic OLED Touch Panel Could Look Like on a MacBook Pro

[chinesedemo]

I can't wait to see what other thing Apple has been working on besides watch bands.

 

[hleewell]

Does this OLED bar point to a near future where 100% of the keyboard surface will be touchscreen...??

 

[jingbugle]

When will Apple make the macbooks touch friendly? On rare occasions when I use a windows laptop, touch was definitely useful. Not sure how much it adds to the costs.

 

[cult hero]

Its kinda the HPrization or Dellirization of the Mac.

The concepts looks good though, I just hope Apple surprises us with a delightful presentation of it in a way that makes us wonder how we ever lived without it. The company has made some underwhelming decisions, I think the majority consensus on the Retina MacBook is, not many users like the one USB C or butterfly keyboard or the 480p camera or the slow processor.

So there is always a possibility of this going down hill.

I think it would be a mistake to confuse this crowd with a majority consensus. Most of the defenders of said machine are actual owners who like it. In my own limited crowd, everyone who owns it loves it. Power users hate it but... that's not it's target audience. The current MacBook is really just the second coming of the original Air anyway.

I'm genuinely curious about this feature. People are already griping before seeing it (nothing new). It could be awesome. I'm not expecting it to suck, but it's certainly possible it's "meh." For me, I don't much care. I almost never use the function keys and esc has been remapped to caps lock anyway. The volume keys get use, but I can't touch type them so as long as they're on the bar that's fine.

 

[crdeans]

I have a stupid question, but how is 4th quarter defined? Does that refer to October through December?

Exactly

 

[MH01]

I'd prefer physical buttons instead. Looks gimmicky to me. Above all else I would like a Retina display in a MacBook Air.

 

[citi]

I'd prefer physical buttons instead. Looks gimmicky to me. Above all else I would like a Retina display in a MacBook Air.

Then it's a good thing we are talking about the Macbook Pro.

 

[chasonstone]

I would very much like this. Hopefully it's implemented by the next time I upgrade.

 

[Triplesix]

take it one step even further....each key could be an OLED screen and can change to whatever you are doing. Using Dvoralk versus QWERTY? When you are using FCP, it will show the shortcuts on the keys, when in emoji's it would show what they are on the keys.....playing a piano? the keys change. That would be interesting.

That would be so awesome

 

[pir2_jerk]

With a good keyboard you won't have to look down at it to push the keys. I think it would be a lot better if there were actual keys that had displays on them. That way you could still change them and put what ever the you want on them, but pushing that pause button wouldn't be such a task.

similarly, the iPhone would have been far easier to use if it was built with physical dial pad keys, with each key having a touchscreen display on it /s

 

[Steeley]

I like the idea. You'd never see Spotify on there though. They don't add new features, they just take them away. I want my bell back.

/goes and has a sook

 

[infinitejest]

Awesome. That's the MacBook I've been waiting for so long.

 

[jsmith189]

This needs to be a thing. Especially the second, with the app specific changes.

 

[tubeexperience]

Kill with fire!

 

[Mythos99]

Personally, i don't need an OLED bar, cause i don't really look down on my keyboard when i work/write etc, so now i would be forced to look down, and it's more of a gimmick from my point of view.

 

[Trius]

Well, that's really cool.
But nothing beats the keyboard of the ThinkPad X220

Excuse me? The X220 keyboard is Ok... You think that's the best it can get?

 

[epicrayban]

Wow. Count me in if this is true. Would happily update my MacBook to this.

 

[MH01]

Then it's a good thing we are talking about the Macbook Pro.

Maybe it's time the notebook range stops being fragmented and the same basic features and connectors are shared across the range ?

owning both the MacBook pro and MacBook , the air is actually the best laptop , but for some silly reason lacks a Retina display like the rest of the range .
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Personally, i don't need an OLED bar, cause i don't really look down on my keyboard when i work/write etc, so now i would be forced to look down, and it's more of a gimmick from my point of view.

An excellent point about design and useability. A well designed keyboard is one you can touch type on without having to look at to find functions . I'm with you in regards to gimmicky, and once people start using it , the fun factor will wear off and be annoying. It's happened with other manafacturers .

 

[recoil80]

I never look at my keyboard since I can type really fast and I know where the keys are placed. To me that kind of bar would be useless, why would I take my eyes out of the screen to look at informations on the bar and then look back on the screen?
Even with fullscreen apps I can go up with the pointer and look at the toolbar, so I always have access to those icons and informations.

Of course I'm talking about me, many people constantly look at their keyboard and the oled screen would be really handy.

 

[vfr800]

Exactly

As has been oft discussed, depends what standard he is using, and whether he's being consistent with what he's used previously.

Calendar quarter Q4 is obviously Oct-Dec.

However, Apple's fiscal Q4 2015 ended September 26, 2015, so I assume it starts around 27th June?

 

[lowendlinux]

That looks GREAT!


Make that happen Apple

 

[8692574]

All the basher from last post about this "bar" will be like this is the best thing since sliced bread....that goes to prove that one should not complain untill he / she see the final product....

Now about that missing audio jack on the iPhone.....

 

[2ilent8cho]

Wonder if PC OEM's are now running around like mad people to copy and get something out based on a rumour.

 

[Janichsan]

No hardware ESC key, no thanks.…

I want my legacy ESC key back

I have to agree: no physical ESC key and power button will cause significant problems if the software locks up.

A power button will always be physical. That is the #1 rule in electronics.

Remember this little guy?

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Does this OLED bar point to a near future where 100% of the keyboard surface will be touchscreen...??

Why do you hate touch typing so much?

 

[ziggie216]

Lenovo used to have something similar on their X1 Carbon. I hated that feature so much and I'm glad that they eventually got rid of it. Freaking pain in the ass to flip through 3 menus just so I can use the correct function button