“On March 27, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an all-new iPad smart cover configuration that includes a keyboard panel,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“One of the aspects of this design which differentiates itself from Microsoft’s Surface tablet cover is that Apple’s keyboard has been uniquely designed to double as a multi-touch gesture keyboard eliminating the need for a touchpad,” Purcher reports. “According to Apple, a gesture may be performed by moving one or more fingers or other objects in a particular manner on the surface of the keyboard such as tapping, pressing, rocking, scrubbing, twisting, changing orientation, pressing with varying pressure and the like at essentially the same time, contiguously, consecutively, or otherwise.”
Much more, including Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]