Apple's latest patent reveals an iPhone-powered MacBook

Apple is onto something quirky. After creating rage with its iPhones and MacBooks, the Cupertino-giant is now planning to add a touchscreen to your MacBook. By touchscreen, we mean the screen of your iPhone or iPad, which will power your MacBook. This means an iPhone-powered MacBook might be on its way.

Yes, Apple is exploring the idea of creating a 2-in-1 device, fusing its Macbook with iPhone or iPad.

Apple has reportedly filed for a patent that reveals a possible future design wherein an iPhone or an iPad could be used as an accessory or component for a Macbook. The US Patent Application Publication recently approved Apple’s design, which was originally filed back in September 2016.

Though the idea is not new and many companies have tried to implement the idea, poor execution and high cost have kept these devices in the something-out-of-the-future category. But with Apple rolling up its sleeves to bring the patent into products, you know its very much doable.

The patent shows two MacBook-style cases, one with a slot for an iPhone where the trackpad or Touch Bar would normally go, and one in place of the computer’s display, where you’d place an iPad. According to the patent, the notebook portion could house additional ports, an external graphics card for added power, and even more memory and a physical keyboard.

Your MacBook, which will be docked with iPhone or iPad, will share and transfer data between each other through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or any other wireless protocol.

“The present application describes various embodiments of systems and methods for providing internal components for portable computing devices having a thin profile. More particularly, the present application describes an electronic accessory device available to extend and expand the usefulness of a portable computing device,” the patent read.

The laptop docking device will come with additional power, connectivity options and ports and it will have to be powered by the device being docked into it. This means that your docked iPhone or iPad will become the CPU of your MacBook and provide it with necessary computing power (processor), graphics, memory, and internal storage. The laptop accessory could however include a GPU to help power the large retina display.

Though the feature is still a patent and has a very long way to go, there are questions which are yet to be answered. Would it simply run a larger version of iOS, or another operating system more akin to MacOS? What apps could it run?

If all the questions are answered, and the product does turn out to be a reality, the dent in our pockets will unquestionably be big, really big.