Apple Working on MacBooks with Flexible Hinges, Similar to SurfaceBook

Apple is working on a living hinge design in MacBook, which similar to Microsoft SurfaceBook. Thanks to the European Patent Office in this week, published Apple’s latest patent additions, we now know what it is: a flexible hinge.

The flexible hinge design in MacBook looks exactly similar to Surface Book, which launched in 2015, with features what Microsoft calls a “dynamic fulcrum hinge” that flexes as the display is open or closed:
When the laptop opens, the hinges bend, the display disassembles and reinstates in the opposite direction, turning the laptop into a tablet.

But, there are some difference between Microsoft “dynamic fulcrum hinge” and SurfaceBook “flexible hinge” in accordance with Apple statement.

Apple sometimes refers to its own technology as a “Living Hinge.” This would mean that the entire MacBook enclosure could be created “from a single rigid material.”

“An enclosure for a laptop may be created from a rigid material having a flexible portion defined around approximately a midpoint of the material. The flexible portion may allow the rigid material to be folded in half and thus acts as a laptop clamshell,” Apple writes in the patent.

When it comes to MacBooks, another report has revealed that Apple may be developing a lighter version of its laptops. As per a report from 9to5Mac, the device is reportedly codenamed ‘Star’ and has a model name as N84. This device is also said to be the company’s first-ever ‘MacBook’ or an ‘iOS notebook’ that will run on an ARM processor as the Apple MacBooks have been using Intel chips since 2006.

Apple has apply for more patents in the past years, whether it will put in the MacBooks or coming true in the future is not known yet, so as customers, don’t expect too much. As the matter of fact, Apple has been fixing the patent many times since 2013, so we have no idea it will come to real model.