Apple keeps researching how to have the iPad-centric Apple Pencil do the work of the old Touch Bar on the surface of a future MacBook Pro.
It’s just a patent application and not only may one of those not be granted, it may not ever lead to an actual product if it is. Except this patent application made public on May 9, 2024 is an expansion of a series of previous ones — including some that have actually been granted.
So this is not a skunkwork project by a few Apple people, it is a project that at least was under continuous development. Mildly hidden under the dull title of “Mountable tool computer input,” it’s really about how an Apple Pencil could be used with a MacBook Pro.
