“A new filing reveals that Apple has researched a method that would allow a touch-sensitive keyboard to generate physical feedback without interfering in gestures,” Aidan Malley reports for AppleInsider.
“Published Thursday but originally applied for in April of last year, the US Patent Office application argues that designers of perfectly flat touch controls are often faced with a difficult choice, particularly if they want to include controls that require swipes or multi-touch gestures,” Malley reports.
One of the methods discussed in the application is the use of “an articulating frame underneath the keyboard that changes the surface depending on the immediate context. When in typing mode, the frame could raise to create edges between virtual keys, provide haptic (vibration) feedback, or create concavities that act like the dips in a traditional keyboard,” Malley reports.
Full article, with Apple’s patent application illustrations, here.
