Apple is known to explore unusual Mac designs, but its latest may be more eye-catching than most. Apple applied for a patent for an ambitious design for a new all-in-one computer which integrates both its keyboard and screen into a single curved sheet of glass. The patent application, which was first spotted by Patently Apple, and which was filed in May last year, describes how the iMac-like computer’s “input area” and “display area” could be built into a single continuous surface, while a support structure behind the display could then contain the computer’s processing unit, as well as providing space for all the machine’s ports.
One section of the patent imagines sliding a MacBook’s keyboard section through the slot, suggesting this design could also be used for a laptop dock instead of a full-fledged computer.
Given how radical the design is, we’d be very surprised if this patent application for an “Electronic Device with Glass Housing Member” made it to market in its current form. However, given the iMac’s design has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade coupled with new advances in glass fabrication, it’s not surprising to learn that some designers within Apple are considering a shake-up.
