A redesign of the MacBook Pro is getting closer to becoming a reality. We first caught wind of this possibility back in May, when we learned that Apple had filed a patent for a touchpad that would be customizable and cover the entire width of the keyboard deck.

While this is not the touchscreen MacBook that fans have been waiting for, it is certainly the jaw-dropping and innovative design needed to shake up the aging MacBook line. And the possibility of an Apple silicon-powered MacBook is wide open, and it doesn't seem impossible.

According to Patently Apple, a site that tracks Apple's patenting quest, Apple filed this patent in March 2019 for an illuminated, "expandable virtual trackpad." The site does not link to the granted patent, but notes that the surface will be a "virtual or dynamic trackpad with an area that can extend to the side walls of the MacBook."

The posting further notes that this area will be "illuminated by an array of light emitting elements (or a single light emitting element) to create a configurable or customizable boundary of the active input area," which basically highlights the space you can touch so you won't forget .

The customization options look pretty interesting, as the patent states that the touchpad can be "moved, resized, relocated" and "functionally reassigned." That way, the touchpad can be moved to the side to save space when working on other tasks on the keyboard deck.

With news of iOS apps coming to the Mac in the Apple Silicon era, this seems less improbable than it did a few months ago. would you want to customize the touchpad to a vertical space to match the iPhone's layout? I would.

Another reason this seems so Apple-like is that touchpad rearrangement is a major accessibility feature, allowing users who have difficulty using their hands and arms to make touch input easier and more personal.

With the Apple Silicon allowing Apple to dramatically rethink the size of its hardware, keep an eye on how Apple plans to shake up the MacBook in the future.