Apple Patented a Solar-Powered, Dual-Sided Touchscreen Laptop

The United States Patent and Trademark office just granted Apple a pretty interesting patent: Something like a Macbook with an iPad glued to the back, which—when left in the sun—recharges rather than melts.

I mean, it’s something like that, but obviously it’s not an iPad and it isn’t glued to the top plate of the laptop. Instead, much more sensibly, the back of the upper housing of the laptop could have an electrochromic glass surface that can change from translucent to transparent when electricity is applied to it. The glass could function as a touchscreen or be made clear to allow light to reach the photovoltaic cells housed in between the two screens to charge the battery or power the computer.

Naturally, it’s a patent, not a product announcement, so don’t put anything up on Craigslist yet. As Techcrunch points out, “the patent was originally filed in 2010, so this may be relegated to the R&D labs.” Still, the patent gives some idea of how this tech could be used on some really expensive laptop in the future.

Just like a smartphone that doesn’t unlock without the proper code, Apple could bring back the mechanical latch (like on the late Powerbook) that stays locked until the right code is entered—although that does open the possibility of a busted outer screen keeping your laptop locked in perpetuity. It could also just be a software lock. The patent also says the outer screen could be used for controlling media, or “other software inputs.” For those who care about such things, the patent also includes various ways the logo can still appear on the back of the computer, even with the screen back there.

As someone who has long complained that because we have wireless internet, we should have wirelessly powered computers, I’m pretty pumped at the prospect of solar panels on my laptop, if only to prolong battery life. It could also reduce the need for big heavy batteries in the laptop body, making them ever slimmer, and ever more portable.

Anyway, like I said, it's just a patent right now, but it sort of makes you wonder if all that "tablets will destroy PCs" hullabaloo was an overly simplistic way of looking at where the market is leading. The two might just be converging.