Does iPhone Duo hint at future MacBook concepts?

[Yr Blues]

 

[redheeler]

That just reminds me of this.

 

[JPack]

No, because most people don't want to type on a piece of glass.

 

[sennomulo]

I'm hoping the under-display camera means the redesign will have no notch, no Dynamic Island, just a regular edge-to-edge screen. There's no reason not to do that.

The MacBook Pro camera doesn't need to be spectacular, it just needs to be passable for FaceTime and Zoom. Nobody's shooting a movie with the MacBook Pro camera. A FaceID-capable camera would require a thicker screen, but all indications are they're thinning the screen down, so I don't think we're getting FaceID.

They may put in a Dynamic Island just to be consistent with the iPhone, but we don't really need that, do we? Just give me my menubar space. Even if there's an awkward glossy circle in the nano-texture display like we see on the iPhone Duo. I'd rather have that than a Dynamic Island.

 

[Yr Blues]

No, because most people don't want to type on a piece of glass.

People didn't know they wanted to type on a piece of glass until Apple tells them so. 😆

 

[iStorm]

I could potentially see something where the display extends down to above the keyboard. The Dock and media controls could occupy this area, basically making it a large version of the Touch Bar, but it's one continuous display.

 

[GMShadow]

They already reportedly cancelled the folding iPad out of cost concerns. A folding screen MacBook would be $10k.

We also already saw the meltdowns over the Touch Bar.

 

[JPack]

People didn't know they wanted to type on a piece of glass until Apple tells them so. 😆

I know your answer's a bit of tongue in cheek, but Apple has already explored this concept through the Touch Bar.

Why did the Touch Bar fail?

Because a notebook has two surfaces. Users are forced to constantly shift focus between the screen and check the keyboard. The whole point of a keyboard is you don't have to look at it.

With a smartphone, there's only one surface and you're always looking at it anyway. Making it "active" (i.e., a touchscreen) costs nothing extra.

If you look at all the attempts so far, including Lenovo X1 Fold, Asus Zenbook Duo/Fold, HP Spectre Fold, and Huawei MateBook Fold, they all come with separate physical keyboard. It's because users want that tactile feel of the ridges and resistance. That's what enables no-look touch typing.

 

[Yr Blues]

I know your answer's a bit of tongue in cheek, but Apple has already explored this concept through the Touch Bar.

Why did the Touch Bar fail?

Because a notebook has two surfaces. Users are forced to constantly shift focus between the screen and check the keyboard. The whole point of a keyboard is you don't have to look at it.

With a smartphone, there's only one surface and you're always looking at it anyway. Making it "active" (i.e., a touchscreen) costs nothing extra.

If you look at all the attempts so far, including Lenovo X1 Fold, Asus Zenbook Duo/Fold, HP Spectre Fold, and Huawei MateBook Fold, they all come with separate physical keyboard. It's because users want that tactile feel of the ridges and resistance. That's what enables no-look touch typing.

Under screen electro-biological resistance. It'll feel like you're touch key edges. Magic!