Gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer filed a patent application for a peculiar type of keyboard and mouse, which might take the firm’s signature Chroma LED effects to the next level — by integrating LCD displays directly underneath the keys themselves.
If that sounds an awful lot like the Optimus keyboard of yore, don’t worry, this one appears to take a different path. Filed back in August and published on January 19, the application is for an “optically transmissive key assembly for display-capable keyboards, keypads, and other user input devices.”
Instead of having a tiny OLED screen for each key, like the Optimus keyboard, Razer’s patent suggests that a single display would be embedded beneath the keys or body of a mouse, which would be optically transmissive, or transparent.
In the accompanying drawings, Razer gives up a few examples of how it might be used in practice. Seen here, an LCD panel lies beneath an optically transmissive layer on an individual key, or optically transmissive areas on, say, a gaming mouse.
“A significant drawback or limitation associated with conventional keyboards is the static information, for instance static letters and numbers, that is displayed by individual keys of said keyboards,” the patent reads. “Unlike touchscreen interfaces, existing keyboards do not provide a user with dynamically changing interface via which a user can introduce inputs, instructions, and/or commands.”
So, it appears that Razer aims to combine the customizable, interactive, and dynamic aspects of the touchscreen interfaces we all know and love, with the tactile feel of a mechanical keyboard or mouse. In another image included in the patent application, we can see a crude example of how this might work on a gaming mouse.
A display beneath the body of the mouse enables the device to have a customizable and interactive interface. Or as the Razer patent application describes it, “a display screen configured to output variable image content” which may or may not be a rigid display screen, or a flexible polymer-based screen.
It’s a very interesting patent application, and it goes on to describe some really innovative uses for OLED and LCD screens on, presumably, gaming peripherals. Still, don’t get too excited, this is just a patent application and the devices it describes could be months or even years away from hitting store shelves.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.