MacBook concept ditches physical keys for a giant Touch Bar

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MacBook sales rising
This concept takes the Touch Bar to the next level.
Photo: Apple

When Apple introduced the MacBook with Touch Bar a couple of years back, it got positive reviews — although it also seemed like a concept that Apple hadn’t pushed as far it would go.

That same criticism certainly can’t be leveled at a new concept video created by Turkish designer and Apple fan Furkan Kasap. Kasap has reimagined the MacBook keyboard as a full-on virtual keyboard built around a touch display. Check it out.

The good and the bad

It will be fascinating to see if Apple ever chooses to embrace technology such as this. We know from Apple patent filings that it has considered such a move in the past.

Removing the physical keyboard would solve a problem Steve Jobs pointed out in the original iPhone unveiling in 2007: namely, that not every application needs the same controls. A virtual keyboard would let developers customize each app to a greater degree, or else give users the option to customize their own work process by, for instance, making keys bigger or smaller.

On a technical level, it would also reduce some of the problems Apple has had with keyboards suffering mechanical faults. A virtual keyboard means these wouldn’t occur, which is reportedly why Apple decided to ditch the physical Home button on iPhones for a haptic one — before getting rid of it altogether.

Sounds good, right? My problem, ultimately, would be the physical feel of the keyboard. Even if Apple was to implement some smart haptic technology, it’s going to impossible to replicate the travel of physical keys.

Ultimately, this looks like a nifty tech demo, but it’s hard to imagine Apple actually pulling the trigger on an idea like this. Personally, I’d rather get a touchscreen Mac and keep the physical keyboard — but maybe that’s just me.

What do you think of Furkan Kasap’s concept Mac? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: The Next Web

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