Codenamed internally as 'Star' – this could be the first MacBook that will come with ARM processor, according to a report on tech website 9to5mac.com. The report further details that 'Star' bears model number N84 and is in prototype stage since January 2018.
The company has also sent few sample prototypes of the device to the Apple’s HQ in Cupertino to be tested by the employees. Other notable features in the MacBook include touch screen, sim card slot, GPS, compass and water-resistance. It is also expected to come with EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface), which is used to connect computers interface to its operating system or to boot system used by Macs. This hints that Apple is bringing a Mac which will be based on ARM.
The new ARM based MacBook has been classified in a new device family that runs a 'derivative' of iOS and is expected to arrive in 2020.
Apple is also working on a new kind of hinge design for its devices. According to the European Patent Office the latest patent emphasises the usefulness of a flexible hinge design for MacBooks – something company has been perfecting since 2013.
‘The patent outlines a flexible hinge design, sometimes referred to by Apple as a ‘Living Hinge. This would mean that entire MacBook enclosure could be created from a single rigid material,’ said a report published on Patently Apple.
Here’s how Apple describes the hinge design in its own words:
‘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.
‘A top portion may support a display screen and a bottom portion may support a keyboard, track pad, and the like, while an interior defined by sidewalls of the rigid material may house a variety of electronic components in accordance with conventional laptop computing devices.
‘In this manner, the enclosure (or a portion thereof) may be created from a single rigid material, while still providing flexibility and bending for the enclosure.’
The Apple patent sounds similar to the hinge Microsoft unveiled with its Surface Book in 2015, which it refers to as a ‘dynamic fulcrum hinge’. Here, the hinge flexes as the laptop opens, while the display is removable from the hinge and can be replaced in the opposite direction, allowing for the laptop to be used in a tablet-like mode.
Video Source: 9to5mac.com
