Apple caused quite a stir in the technology world when it launched its new hardware sporting the Magic Keyboard design. And now Microsoft feels that it can do one better.
Work is underway behind Redmond walls on bringing this technology to its Surface line.
And a newly discovered patent application has provided us with hints at what this might be. The company envisions a new device with a display hinge that can connect the stand to the display with support for rotation.
The display hinge is a friction hinge that could have a display breakout torque to rotate the display around the hinge sitting above the keyboard.
As explained:
“The display hinge may include a stand hinge between the display and the stand. The stand hinge may be any type of hinge. For example, the stand hinge may be a friction hinge similar to the base hinge.”
The key thing to note here is that the device is neither a detachable tablet with a separate keyboard, nor a flip-and-fold convertible design. Idea being, a machine with a keyboard setup similar to Apple’s Magic Keyboard for its tablet that turns iPad into a Mac.
With this new design for a Surface device, Microsoft plans to offer support for multiple form factors while at the same time reducing the total width of the computing device.
It remains to be seen when and if something like this makes its way to the market. But if previous ideas that Microsoft has patented are any indication, there is a chance that an entirely new Surface model may become real soon.
A technology like this is too good to be ignored.
