Questionable Claims of Apple's Interest in Sonder's Dynamic E-Ink Keyboard Technology Emerge

[ActionableMango]

For obvious reasons I think this is mainly useful to typing novices who have to look at their keyboard while typing. Being able to change the main keys won't benefit anyone who is a touch typist, because we don't look at the keyboard anyway, expect perhaps an occasional glance.

Gamers? Maybe there is some value in the brief tutorial/learning phase, but otherwise no. You should be looking at the screen, not the keyboard.

So for touch typists the main positive utility I could see from this is having the function key row change to match functions of whatever productivity application is running. It is hard to remember which function keys do what in which apps, and that row doesn't have anything to do with touch typing. Remember those old school paper templates that would surround the function key row? This would be an improvement on that.

I could also see some benefit, albeit exceptionally minor, for dual-booters to have their CTRL/ALT/OPTION/COMMAND/WIN keys labelled correctly. But again, if you're a touch typist then you are probably beyond looking at those keys anyway.

 

[Juicy Box]

So Apple could use the MBP keyboard parts directly in the wireless keyboard - controller and all, which the current mini/MBP-keyboard controller doesn't support enough i/o lines to scan a full-size keyboard.

Basically too much effort and too small of a market for Apple to bother with anymore.

I think I understand what you are saying, but Apple still makes a full size keyboard, it just isn't wireless anymore. It used to be.

 

[idunn]

No way I want this on any future Apple product.

 

[kingtj]

Why not?

I'm not saying it's something everyone will be able to use.... but I can see it coming in handy in certain situations. Apple is already guilty of having some WEIRD key combinations to press to perform different functions in apps or the OS itself.

(Raise your hand if you're a regular user of Control-Shift-Command-T to add an item to the Dock, for example? Or Option-Shift-Command-Delete to empty the Trash without a confirmation dialog. Shift-Command-Colon to open the Grammar/Spelling window isn't ultra intuitive either.)

If you had a keyboard that could illustrate some of these options in a better way, I could see that being a benefit.

No way I want this on any future Apple product.

 

[lordofthereef]

For obvious reasons I think this is mainly useful to typing novices who have to look at their keyboard while typing. Being able to change the main keys won't benefit anyone who is a touch typist, because we don't look at the keyboard anyway, expect perhaps an occasional glance.

Gamers? Maybe there is some value in the brief tutorial/learning phase, but otherwise no. You should be looking at the screen, not the keyboard.

So for touch typists the main positive utility I could see from this is having the function key row change to match functions of whatever productivity application is running. It is hard to remember which function keys do what in which apps, and that row doesn't have anything to do with touch typing. Remember those old school paper templates that would surround the function key row? This would be an improvement on that.

I could also see some benefit, albeit exceptionally minor, for dual-booters to have their CTRL/ALT/OPTION/COMMAND/WIN keys labelled correctly. But again, if you're a touch typist then you are probably beyond looking at those keys anyway.

The first thing that came to my mind was actually typing in foreign languages. Hopping between English and Russian, as an example. That said, the only other language I speak is Hungarian and that keyboard is basically the same as qwerty except that the "y" and "z" swap places.

 

[bennyf]

This is a hoax at best and a pump-and-dump stock or investment scheme at worst. This is not a tech Apple would ever incorporate into the keyboard. A small strip at the top for one row of keys maybe, but this just screams crappy, cheesy, gimmicky. The opposite of everything Apple.

Edited to add: also hideously ugly.

Maybe not a hoax but someone desperate for attention.

 

[soucisyl]

No way I want this on any future Apple product.

If the feeling of touch and the quality of the keyboard is correct. Why not. If you don’t need it, just let the American keyboard the default.

If you don’t see the major utility of that, that means you are a unilingual anglophone. Even the internet and application are mostly in English, you have to consider the "majority" of people around the word have to communicate in many other languages than English at their daily use.

It’s not an exception also, where countries have two official languages. I live in Canada (French and English), and I have to switch 100 times daily. It’s not a big issue, because we use the same characters, but I have to type twice to have my accents on the vowels, so my native language is disadvantaged by an international keyboard.

But when I have to write Thai, I have to put/remove silicone cover skin, change my language at each time I switch between applications. It’s not funny and the typing is not flawless on the cover skin.

I think it will be a good upgrade for the majority of the people.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Yep, black and white ePaper and OLED screens are the exact same thing. Definitely already exists.

On a related note, the iPhone 7 is a total ripoff of 2 tin cans and a string.

"this already exists" means the same concept : a physical keyboard where all the keys are tiny screens, not meant the EXACT same object.. Sheesh

 

[mildocjr]

The real question is if a keyboard was made and based around hieroglyphics should it be called Ankh-keys? (It's just one of those days)

 

[poorcody]

However, I'm more inclined to think Apple will go with a glass touch screen, virtual keyboard, wi a Taptic Engine before they went this route, and that would definitely drain the battery much faster. But it would also offer an incredible multi-purpose interface for those who need it.

Have you guys seen that Lenovo is releasing just such a laptop this month? Interesting concept, although it's hard to see typing on a flat surface. Then again, the new MacBook's keyboard is so shallow, maybe there's not much difference!

Lenovo laptop: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016...-is-a-360-degree-laptop-without-the-keyboard/

 

[mazz0]

One things for sure - it's going t need to look a lot better than it does in that video before we see it on Macs!

 

[sshambles]

Anyone else think this looks terrible?

 

[cult hero]

That would be horrible. I've tried "touch-typing" on a touchscreen. Invariably my fingers start to stray the moment I take my eyes off the keys. Haptic wouldn't help that either. You need to be able to feel the edges of the keys and those dimples on two of them.

Yeah. I have no idea why anyone thinks real keyboards are going anywhere.

 

[cclloyd]

This exists already ! It's been available from a russian company many years ago, and it was quite expensive, and the keys were actually in color !
It's called Optimus Maximus keyboard http://www.artlebedev.com/optimus/
The first one is sold out and I don't think they make them anymore. The second one is still in development and will cost 1500$

Isn't that an OLED keyboard, not E-ink?

 

[abhibeckert]

People actually look at their keyboards when they touch type?

I'd like to have the option.

For example on the rare occasion I need the € symbol I press Command-Control-Space, then use the trackpad to click the "Search" box, type "eur", then reach for the trackpad again to double click the € symbol and click the tiny close panel button.

This is vastly inferior to iOS where you just long press the $ symbol. A dynamic keyboard would help me discover the Option-Shift-2 keyboard shortcut, which I know exists but can never remember when it's needed.

 

[canadianreader]

Where's Logitech in all this? Aren't they supposed to be ahead in Keyboard technology ?

 

[Phil in ocala]

there goes the 6 month battery life of wireless keyboards....

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
$199? that is about $150 too expensive for me and 90% of users....especially if its made in low wage CHINA.

 

[mattcha90]

there goes the 6 month battery life of wireless keyboards....

E-ink uses almost no battery. Why do you think Kindles not on wifi can go for months without charging?

 

[Tech198]

e-ink is good. Anything to save on battery..

 

[wikiverse]

there goes the 6 month battery life of wireless keyboards....

Not true. e-ink really only drains power when it is changing the image.

Customizable keys have always seemed a cool idea, but in reality they're convoluted, gimmicky, over-fiddly, and over-priced for most users. Most users never mess with key mappings, custom key functions, or macros.

But for fixed keyboard layouts (AVID) and multi-language keyboards they're amazing. Especially for people that only use a different language occasionally and aren't proficient touch-typers.

 

[insomniac86]

Personally i want Apple to update their Desktop keyboard/trackpad products.

-a backlit keyboard with an LCD bar (USB). Would it be cool if they could make this wirelessly charged dropping the USB requirement.
-Apple Pencil support on a new even larger trackpad.
-A Magic Mouse with integrated touch ID.

 

[Pakaku]

However, I'm more inclined to think Apple will go with a glass touch screen, virtual keyboard, wi a Taptic Engine before they went this route, and that would definitely drain the battery much faster. But it would also offer an incredible multi-purpose interface for those who need it.

PLEASE don't give Apple any ideas. That would be unbearable to type on.

The e-ink idea seems pointless, but at least the keys would still be functional. Well, about as functional as the incredibly-shallow key depth allows, that is.

 

[JackANSI]

I think I understand what you are saying, but Apple still makes a full size keyboard, it just isn't wireless anymore. It used to be.

It's basically a problem Apple designed themselves in to when they went to chiclet keys they binned the old wireless full keyboard and slapped a wire on the new one so it could be a desktop hub of sorts and make things nice and neat (almost looking like it all just had one wire connecting everything).

I wish they would: drop the wired full-size, move the mini wireless down to $69 and put in a wireless full size at $109-$119. I could do without e-ink, but if Apple wanted, that would leave them room for it around $179-$199.

 

[ErikGrim]

That keyboard looks horrible... oof.

Haha. So ugly. I remember the web creaming their collective pants over the Optimus keyboard. The finished product looked, well. Let's just pull up this picture again.

 

[Sedulous]

These kinds of things seem to excite the same kind of people that think a transparent display would be "awesome". No thanks.