Apple’s latest patent transforms the iMac into a curved sheet of glass

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We’ve seen recent foldable designs from mobile phone manufacturers, which have met with varying success. Now it might finally be Apple’s time, but not on the devices you were thinking of. See, a new patent filed in May of last year shows a possible foldable iMac, with a sweet curved pane of glass.

Sure, it’s not pocketable, but it could make the all-in-one iMac small enough to sling into a laptop bag.

Apple’s latest patent shows a foldable iMac

Image: Apple / USPTO

First noticed by PatentlyApple, the all-in-one iMac also includes its keyboard as part of the design, with a sweeping curve of glass that connects it up to the main display. The patent describes how both the input area and display area could be put into a single, continuous surface. This would be held up by a support section, presumably holding the CPU for the iMac, as well as ports. That would make Apple able to build a super-thin screen, especially if they use miniLED or OLED.

• Apple could be making an iMac with an inbuilt keyboard, connected by a curved section of glass
• Other designs include a way to dock a MacBook as the keyboard or a foldable section for portability

Is this what happens once Jony Ive left Apple? Crazy designs that move away from the aluminum are king designs for non-mobile devices? If so, I’m all for it, and I can’t wait to see what Apple’s crazy designers come up with next.

Have any thoughts on this? Do you think Apple has the balls to release this into the wild? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.