Apple patents a Surface Book-like iPad with macOS

Like many other tech companies, Apple constantly patents various ideas and technologies, even though many never materialize in a consumer device. A device described in one of the recent Apple patents might also never see the light of day, but it shows that Apple considers all sorts of wild ideas, which often contradict what the company says publicly.

A patent discovered by Patently Apple shows an iPad with a dock station that suspiciously resembles the now-abandoned Microsoft Surface Book. It features a detachable keyboard with "electromechanical keys," a trackpad, and a coupling mechanism that enables different positions, such as tent mode, laptop mode, canvas mode, etc. The hinge in the dock station might also display brief information, contain a camera, microphone, or projector, and work as an Apple Pencil holder.

Another noteworthy aspect of the patent is that the iPad shown uses macOS instead of iPadOS. With Apple adding M1 processors to more iPads and Macs switching to ARM, many fans want to see a macOS-powered iPad or a tablet that can switch between macOS and iPadOS depending on connected accessories.

It is hard to say whether Apple would make such a device, especially with the company being resistant to making universal devices capable of replacing, for example, a laptop and a tablet (why sell one gadget if you can sell two). Also, Apple constantly reminds everyone that it wants to keep macOS separate from iPadOS and develop iPad and Mac side-by-side instead of fusing them into a single frankenlaptop.

Finally, it is worth noting that the Surface Studio was also a wild patented idea that turned into one of the craziest (although now slightly abandoned) Windows AIOs.

What do you think about the idea of a Surface Book-looking iPad?

Apple patents a Surface Book-like iPad with macOS