Apple has been granted a patent that may mean that the MagSafe power connector concept, a mainstay of Apple design for the past ten years that was discontinued with the 12-inch MacBook, may be returning. The MagSafe power connector allowed adapters to snap in seamlessly with MacBooks, and should anything trip on the cable, pull the plug out with less risk of knocking over the computer.
The patent builds on the Smart Connector idea Apple introduced with the iPad Pro, which allowed the device to connect with the Smart Keyboard. If Apple follows through with the concepts listed in the patent, then multiple stacked connectors could transfer data and power through the Smart Connector port, connected via a magnetic retention force.
The Apple Watch currently charges in a similar fashion, with a magnetic puck. This new patent would essentially mean that several of these pucks could be stacked on top of one another, held magnetically together.
This type of technology would come in useful as Apple strips out ports on their devices in favor of a single USB-C connection .
Apple was granted another patent recently that would allow holographic-like imagery to be projected onto a display, presumably via the aforementioned connector. It would be able to track positionally where multiple users are looking, meaning each user could have a personalized desktop rotating proportionally in 3D.
