Microsoft has a good thing going with the Surface line, but there is always room for improvement. And that is exactly what the Surface Pro 7 may be getting when it launches, hopefully next year.
A recently discovered patent shows that the Redmond based company wants to make the Surface Type Cover even thinner for the next iteration.
And this is done by changing the way the trackpad on the accessory works.
Basically, the idea is to improve the feedback when typing by integrating the trackpad right into the circuit board, thereby saving space inside. Yet at the same time, the company wants to ensure that it does this without making any compromises to the experience offered to the users.
As explained in the abstract section of the patent:
“Techniques for a circuit board for an input device are described. In at least some embodiments, an input device is integrated with a circuit board of a device.
For example, a touch interaction area of the input device is formed by cutting and / or etching a portion of the circuit board such that the touch interaction area is movable with respect to adjacent portions of the circuit board. In one or more embodiments, an input device includes a switch such that movement of the touch interaction region actuates the switch to generate a click-enter event.”
Things are still in the patents stage, and no guarantee that Microsoft will indeed push this to mass production.
But according to the report above, the company is currently pondering several different ideas in this regard, and trying to refine how the whole system would work. We may have a better idea of what improvements make the cut in the months approach the release date of the device.
Next year should provide a better idea.
