Apple patent hints at a keyboard made of tiny displays

The US Patent and Trademark Office recently granted Cupertino-based tech giant Apple a new patent. The patent, spotted first by Patently Apple, allows the use of tiny displays on individual keys of a keyboard. This will allow the letter/character on top of the displays to be customisable. Hence, the entire keyboard will be able to swap keys to switch languages or implement various country-specific layouts. If Apple allows it, users may even be able to completely swap keys according to their own preference.

The keyboard with “dynamic labels” will be able to change its layout according to the task at hand. Imagine the functionality of Apple’s Touch Bar, across the whole keyboard. Switching languages, on the other hand, will be as convenient as switching virtual keypads on a smartphone.