The next MacBook Pro could be more like an iPad than ever. Yes, Apple has resisted calls for a touchscreen MacBook, but what if the entire space under the keyboard were a giant touchpad?

This is the latest MacBook Pro rumor to cross our desks, and it comes from a patent granted to Apple titled "Dynamic input surface for electronic devices." And the more we think about this, the more it makes sense for the rumored ARM MacBook.

Actually looking through the details of the patent, it is a bit hard to imagine. A "partially flexible metal contact area" defines the area of touch input, and based on gestures, "a perforated ...... that may be selectively illuminated" and "a group of indicators."

And while this is confusing, it makes more sense when the patent points out that the size of the input area, or functional touchpad, may vary. The patent notes that "the input area changes dynamically."

This last part calmed me down a bit. I was wondering how Apple was going to deal with people using the area under the keyboard as a wrist rest, as we do with our laptops. The second half of the patent indicates that a touch detection module could be used to prevent certain types of interactions.

Crazy as it may sound, we are eagerly awaiting the MacBook to undergo a sea change, as its design is slowly aging as its competitors innovate. Asus, for example, is experimenting with a giant interactive touchscreen above the keyboard on its ZenBook Pro laptop. Placing the touchscreen above the keyboard makes sense to avoid accidental typing, but it is ergonomically awkward because there is no more space to hold your wrist in place.

Of course, this is patent news, so don't make any big purchasing decisions immediately based on this alone. Tech giants regularly file patents with no intention of actually pursuing them, but with the goal of discouraging competitors from running with the same idea in the future.