Apple patents Surface Book-style MacBook with a detatchable screen

Another Apple patent has been spotted, and this particular one could be the revelation of a possible design for a future MacBook.

And it would seem that Apple is mulling over the prospect of a convertible laptop with a display that can be detached from the base of the machine, much like Microsoft's new Surface Book.

However, the big difference from this concept – which was spotted by CNN – is that in Apple's patent, the machine has all the components (processor, memory and so forth) in the laptop base.

The display is simply a 'dumb' screen, as opposed to a detachable tablet which has a processor on board and can be used on the move without the base.

In Apple's concept, the display connects wirelessly to the base, so it can be used independently but still has to remain in range. Whether or not the display would be a touchscreen isn't mentioned, but you'd certainly imagine if it's detachable for use like a tablet, this would be the case.

The hinge for connecting the screen and base looks pretty clunky in the images provided with the patent, but this is just an early concept – and it sounds like said hinge could well be used to transfer power from the base to the display portion (possibly via inductive means).

Of course, Apple files a lot of patents for a lot of devices and components, and most of them don't see the light of day.

Still, it is obviously likely that Apple will experiment with changing the MacBook going forward, so we could well see something along these lines in the future.

Also check out: Surface Book's gaming benchmarks leave MacBook Pro 13-inch in the dust

Image: CNN