One of the more famous and persistent MacBook Pro rumors is that this year’s laptop could get a major revamp, and that it would feature an OLED touchpanel bar in place of the function keys. The idea is that this OLED bar will be dynamic/contextual so that it will change depending on what you’re doing or what app you’re using.
There have been several instances in which the touchpanel has been referenced, and the latest comes in the form of a “secret” trademark filed for a certain “Magic Toolbar”. This trademark was unearthed by The Trademark Ninja (via The Next Web) and one of the interesting things is that it was actually not filed by Apple themselves. Instead it was filed by a company called Presto Apps America LLC which was actually incorporated in January earlier this year.
So how does this relate to Apple? The Trademark Ninja breaks it down for those who are interested, but basically there are a few signs to suggest that it is Apple. One of those is that Apple has trademarks filed for some accessories like the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Magic Slate, and Magic Trackpad.
Another form of “evidence” is the cost of €16,000 and the various legal moves involved that would suggest that a company with the resources and experience such as Apple could pull off. Then there is the fact that over in Canada, the filing for the name was applied for by the name company that filed for the “AirPods” trademark. That being said the evidence is strong and so is the logic, but at the same time it could also be quite a stretch.
In any case Apple is hosting an event on the 27th of October and given that this would be a rather groundbreaking feature for the MacBook Pro to have, we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple did lead us on a merry legal chase so as to not spoil the surprise.
Filed in . Read more about Laptops, Macbook Pro and Trademark.