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| Piezoelectric effect illustration |
Soon after introducing the new Apple Magic Keyboard, Apple
Insider has discovered a patent on a possible new keyboard mechanism that Apple
is considering. The patent mentioned using
piezoelectric material for switch activation and perhaps haptic feedback. Now, piezoelectric are sensitive to pressure applied
and itself can generate a slight mechanical moment given an electric field. So, Apple might be thinking of making an
array of little trackpads with each cell to function as a key switch. It’s going to even thinner than a butterfly
switch that for sure.
So, the word is thin.
I don’t remember how much moment a piezoelectric material can generate
without some sort of amplifier, but the moment it generates is small and requires
quite a bit high voltage. So, I am going
out on a limb and say that Apple is not only trying to build a thinner keyboard,
but moving toward a virtual keyboard design in general. I have commented earlier that Apple is hard at
work to unify the user experience across its Mac lines. I have a feeling that the next goal is to
unify that user experience with that of the iDevices. Since all the iDevices have virtual
keyboards, the logical step then is to get rid of physical keyboard and go into
a virtual one.
Apple is pretty patient with its plans and it needs a stop gap or stepping stone to move users away from a physical keyboard to something in between- hence piezoelectric actuators and sensors based key switch. The travel will be very small, and likely the feedback as well. The switches are pressure sensitive rather than mechanical movement sensitive. Unless it’s supplemented by solenoid like device (just like the iPhone) and without an amp, the tactile feedback from a piezoelectric device is likely small as well. So, by slowly taking away the sensations of key travels and tactile feedback of the keys themselves, people are more likely to accept a virtual keyboard later on after they get used to a piezoelectric one.
Apple is pretty patient with its plans and it needs a stop gap or stepping stone to move users away from a physical keyboard to something in between- hence piezoelectric actuators and sensors based key switch. The travel will be very small, and likely the feedback as well. The switches are pressure sensitive rather than mechanical movement sensitive. Unless it’s supplemented by solenoid like device (just like the iPhone) and without an amp, the tactile feedback from a piezoelectric device is likely small as well. So, by slowly taking away the sensations of key travels and tactile feedback of the keys themselves, people are more likely to accept a virtual keyboard later on after they get used to a piezoelectric one.
I
am not sure if I like what I am predicting since I really enjoy using a
mechanical movement based keyboard. Not
that physical keyboard is going to disappear overnight, but Apple pretty much
commands the trend of industrial design and large chunk of capacity for much of the personal computer manufacturing
industry. Just look at the popularity of
the Chiclets keyboard on laptops. It’s not
easy to find one without it nowadays. I
think physical keyboard will likely become rarer and everyone will be tapping
on a pad like thing instead. Physical keyboards are not going anywhere, I am sure. Somehow, I feel things will be less lively and less interesting if Apple goes with the virtual keyboard route. Typing on a virtual keyboard is a portability compromise, not really the best way in my humble opinion. So, not a fan
of that future, I must say. So,
hopefully this is just one of those experiments rather than a sign of things to come...
Image credit- ("SchemaPiezo" by Tizeff - Template:Ownnn. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons)
Image credit- ("SchemaPiezo" by Tizeff - Template:Ownnn. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons)
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