With Touch Bar, why did Apple use electronic ink?

MacBook Pro came, but the rumored e-ink keyboard didn't come. Although this is also expected, but some fruit really really want to see what the Mac + electronic ink will be what kind of combination. If Apple really wants to apply electronic ink technology, 2017 should be appropriate.

When does the electronic ink keyboard come?

The MacBook Pro, which hasn't seen a long time, finally achieved a major design update this year. The biggest highlight of the new model is its Touch Bar touch bar, but the legendary electronic ink keyboard did not come.

For the first time we knew that Apple seemed to be working on electronic ink technology more than a month ago. At a presentation at Tsinghua University, Foxconn executives revealed that Apple is seeking to acquire start-up company Sonder Design. The intention is to use e-ink technology on Mac computers—the most famous product of Sonder Design is the electronic ink keyboard.

Soon, Sonder confirmed that the acquisition negotiations are in progress and that Foxconn is indeed assisting in the negotiations. Later, the Wall Street Journal confirmed through the source that Apple intends to use electronic ink technology to allow Mac products to carry electronic ink keyboards.

The Foxconn executive once said that Apple may adopt electronic ink technology on the upcoming MacBook Pro, but this possibility is not too great. The news is only a short time away from the launch of the new machine. Now, if you want to know that even if Apple is supernatural, it won't be able to complete all the preparations in such a short time.

However, since so many sources, including Sonder, have already confirmed the existence of acquisition plans and even technology applications, it is very likely that Apple will use e-ink technology on the Mac product line. So, is there any possibility for MacBook next year?

MacBook is still in

Almost everyone's consensus is that the MacBook Air series is about to disappear, otherwise why should Apple disregard the needs of professionals, do MacBook Pro light and thin, and then simply eliminate the 11-inch MacBook Air it? However, if you want to say that Apple will greatly simplify the product line, leaving the MacBook lineup from only the "pro" one, the possibility is not too great.

From the MacBook Pro, we can see that Apple did not go as far as the professional-level market like Microsoft, or hope to take care of both ends, even if this would sacrifice some of the professional users dream of high performance. So for Apple and Mac, the consumer market is still important.

The reason why the 11-inch MacBook Air will be canceled is because its positioning has already overlapped with the iPad Pro that Apple claims is "the next computer." In the consumer market, the demand for ultra-thin laptops is still relatively high, not to pursue strong performance. Although MacBook Pro has made breakthroughs in lighter and lighter, there is yet another product line to support the scene in the "lighter and lighter" demand. If MacBook Air really wants to disappear, then MacBook is a good choice for next year's update. The MacBook was born in 2015 and is due to be released in 2016. It is also the time to update it.

Is electronic ink really possible?

This speculation may seem unreasonable. After all, Apple has already implemented the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro. According to its traditional tradition, these technologies should continue to be spread to other platforms, instead of using the Touch Bar. There is an electronic ink screen over there. However, if you think about it from another angle, it is not a bad idea to do so.

The so-called electronic ink keyboard is a device that installs a small electronic ink screen on each key position so that captions or icons on the keycap can present various changes. With the customizable features on the software, the e-ink keyboard enables the change of key pattern and function together. Sonder has successfully launched the Sonder Keyboard before being acquired, demonstrating that this product is indeed practical.

The new Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro is essentially an elongated OLED touch screen. It will change the displayed keys, expressions and pictures in real time according to the software currently running, and users can interact with Touch Bar through touch. Then operate the software.

If you just compare the two technologies in this way, you will find that they have a certain degree of similarity in their purpose. They all use a function that can be customized at any time to change the way that users operate the computer. Touch Bar seems to be even better, because it shows more gorgeous and higher degrees of freedom. From this point of view, does the e-ink keyboard not have any meaning on the MacBook product line? Not so much.

Touch Bar is a more specialized technique, which we can see from that conference. Whether it's Photoshop's color palette or using DJ as a DJ, these are features for professional users. These features are not required for the MacBook.

Electronic ink technology has begun to mature. It has a wide range of applications, and even a small area such as a keyboard keycap has no problem and does not affect the slimness of the MacBook. Electronic ink screens are cheap to produce and their output is not low. This technology has the advantage of low power consumption, as long as it does not frequently switch the key position, it maintains the pattern is almost zero power consumption, which is very important for the MacBook extremely stressed portable and endurance. In addition, electronic ink also has the advantages of reading perception and traditional ink. Many users like to take the thin and light pens like MacBook out of the street, which is very suitable.

Taken together, the e-ink keyboard and Touch Bar have certain similarities in design and creativity, which is consistent with Apple's pursuit of the so-called "next generation of interactive methods." E-ink technology is also easy to read, flexible, easy to manufacture with low cost, and low power consumption. This makes it very suitable for the main consumer grades such as MacBook, users who do not have much demand for professional use.

Time will give us the answer

Say so many, in fact, many are also built on speculation. Will Apple really launch a MacBook with an e-ink keyboard in 2017? Few people can know the answer now.

In fact, the time given by The Wall Street Journal is 2018, which means that Apple will launch the e-ink keyboard version of the MacBook. Of course, this possibility also exists. If so, then Apple's upcoming launch in 2017 is likely to be Magic Keyboad, which uses electronic ink technology. Touch Bars, such as Magic Keyboard's wireless keyboards, may suffer from transmission delays, reduced battery life, and increased costs, and are not ideal.

In any case, considering that these sources have a low reliability, it seems that Apple is really very optimistic about electronic ink technology. Do you prefer the cool, free-flowing Touch Bar, or do you have a different flavor of e-ink keyboard?

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