iMac + iPad hybrid planned? Intriguing Apple patents outed

Coming straight out of left field, Patently Apple, home to the most committed Apple patent watchers out there, has pulled together some patents and come to an intriguing conclusion: Apple’s toying with creating a iMac/iPad hybrid. It’s a wacky idea but at least there’s some patent drawings to ponder…

Patently Apple points to a series of patents relating to the way Apple secures the iMac screen (just like the iPad 2 smart case, it’s all about magnets) and looks back to previous patents that outlined possible iMac touch systems.

It also pulls together patents for a iMac shell dock which was first assumed to be for docking a MacBook and an odd patent that showed a baffle on the back of what appeared to be an iPad but could be a detachable screen for the future iMac/iPad hybrid.

On the software side there has been a lot of speculation that Mac OS X Lion is the start of a move to bring iOS and OS X together in one unified system. iOS-like elements are already baked into lots of OS X Lion’s new features.

However, an iMac/iPad hybrid would ignore Steve Jobs’ frequent dismissal of touch screen desktops because of what he dubbed “gorilla arm syndrome” (your arm getting tired from swiping and swatting at a vertical screen). A detachable screen would most likely need to drop in screen size or feature some as yet undisclosed split screen configuration to work.

There’s also the question of why Apple would want to bring the two product lines together. Right now, people buy an iMac and an iPad. While Patently Apple’s detective work is intriguing, lots of Apple patents end up plonked in the files and never used. A next gen iMac is surely on the way but the hybrid idea really does seem unlikely.

Are we right to be sceptical? Or could Apple really build a hybrid iMac/iPad machine? Head to the comments and let us know what you think.

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Patently Apple)

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