A new Apple patent has been revealed that suggests Apple could replace the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air physical keyboards with a "force-sensitive input structure for an electronic device.” In other words, a giant touchpad-like surface capable of creating a virtual keyboard on the fly.
As Gizmodo points out, this may not necessarily be the best idea ever. Typing on an iPad keyboard can be quite tiresome because of the lack of tactile feedback, and while the process of typing on an iPhone keyboard is usually aided by the smallness of the keyboard/being thumb-centric, even that can stress the carpal tunnel for anything longer than short blurbs.
Apple’s patent idea may incorporate something ala 3D Touch technology, which was released with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. 3D Touch allows the iPhone screen to be pressed in, and is currently used to provide a right click of sorts that brings up a contextual menu.
There are two major benefits to Apple’s idea, however: the lack of moving parts means there is less stuff that can break, and the virtual keyboard could be entirely configurable by the end user themselves. This means the numeric mini-keyboard, condemned in 2016 to exist on old Dell keyboards in stuffy office buildings, could see a comeback.
