There are a couple of doozies floating around today. The first is a radically different Apple Watch, as reported by MacRumors:
In one application, embodiments of the invention describe a wearable electronic device, such as a smartwatch, including a flexible display panel and flexible display module. In this manner, the display area of the smartwatch is not limited to a rigid watch face area. In an embodiment, a smartwatch includes a flexible display panel that is integrated into a flexible watch band. Accordingly, curvature of the flexible display panel in both the watch face area and band may be adjusted to conform to the wrist size of the user… the display area of the flexible display panel can cover more available space on the watch face area and band of the smartwatch.
And here I thought an Apple fitness tracker with no display was a good idea…
Secondly, there’s the case of the amazing retractable keyboard, as reported by Patently Apple:
Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple 3 MacBook patents. One covers the MacBook keyboard having retractable keys that could further slimline the MacBook when the lid is closed. The second covers a new magnetic system that is designed to put the display into sleep mode when it reaches a certain angle as presented in our cover graphic. The third patent covers new selective keyboard backlighting system allowing users to selectively make certain keys brighter than others which is good for gaming and beyond.
Maybe they should just leave the keyboards alone for a bit.
Of course, Apple — and every other large tech company — patents all sorts of things as a defensive measure, and these ideas probably won’t ever make it into real products. In the cases today, I think I’m fine with that.