BGR was the first big news site on Wednesday to draw attention to an exciting new product that Apple is reportedly working on behind closed doors. In fact, no one outside of the company had any idea that this new device was even in development until yesterday, when an anonymous Reddit users whose identity was verified by the site’s moderators wrote about it. Now, a new report suggests that the anonymous Redditor’s claims are the real deal, and we indeed may have just gotten our first preview of an exciting new product that Apple plans to launch in the future.
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Yesterday, we drew the world’s attention to a Reddit post that seemingly shared the first ever details on Apple’s next-generation Magic Keyboard. While the company’s current Magic Keyboard model is hardly deserving of the name — there’s really nothing “magic” about a simple Bluetooth keyboard — the new model Apple is supposedly working on may actually pack some exciting innovations.
In a nutshell, Apple is said to be in the process of acquiring a startup called Sonder, which has developed a nifty new keyboard. It looks like Apple’s own Bluetooth keyboard at first glance, but each key is actually home to a tiny E Ink display that can change to suit whatever app is being used. Our post from yesterday features a video of the keyboard in action.
According to the anonymous Reddit user’s claims, she was in attendance at a Foxconn event where the company showed off a prototype the keyboard and discussed certain details of the company’s dealings with Apple. Foxconn, which is an investor in Sonder, also supposedly said that Apple is in the process of acquiring Sonder, and that the keyboard it is working on will likely be released in 2018 as Apple’s next-generation Magic Keyboard. Unlike the current model, the finished Apple version may utilize color E Ink instead of standard grayscale E Ink.
Now, The Guardian notes that an official from Sonder has confirmed that the company is indeed in talks with Apple’s procurement board. Apple CEO Tim Cook is also said to have met with the company. The details of any talks are of course still a mystery, but it could mean that Apple keyboards — for desktop computers and laptops alike — could be in store for a serious dose of magic in the near future.
Here’s a video of Sonder’s E Ink keyboard in action:
