We’re all guilty of putting down that yummy lunchtime snack and getting back to work, only to realize that half the keys on our keyboard are now glistening with oil and feeling a little gross. The feeling is especially upsetting for me when it comes to greasing up a particularly expensive MacBook Pro - but, it looks like Apple might have a solution.
You may have noticed that despite not poking around on your MacBook’s display (due to Apple’s resistance to adding a touchscreen to its MacBook laptops), you see little marks on the screen that come from your keys pressing against the display. To curb this issue, it looks like a newly granted patent called “Keycap particle evacuation structure” will hopefully keep the keyboard clean - and thus keep the display free from marks.
According to the patent, "[keyboard] contaminants and debris on the keycaps can cause damage to the display... For example, oil on the keycaps can transfer to the display when the display is closed over the keyboard thereby leaving unsightly oil smudges at the points of contact with the display."
We out here - being greasy
In order to combat this, the patent describes keycaps that have polished surfaces that are resistant to oil and dirt buildup. One of the proposed designs involves concave keycaps. You may have seen these types of keys on other laptops, which have a slight dip in the middle rather than completely flat. So, even if your keyboard is a little grim, the dip in the keys means that when your laptop is closed there is minimal contact between the keys and the display.
Hopefully, we’ll get to see this patent come to life, possibly in the rumored M4 MacBook refresh we might see later on in the year.
While this may not be a problem a lot of people think about that often, I’m glad that Apple is thinking about ways to keep its devices as clean as possible for longer. I currently use a MacBook Air for work and hate the horrible key smudges and grease that eventually always build up. Humans produce oils naturally, and there’s no real way to curb the oily trace aside from wearing gloves every time you type or washing your hands every few hours while you’re working.
If reading all this has you itching to give your MacBook a clean, you can check out our how to clean your MacBook screen tutorial, and give your keyboard a much-needed scrub with our guide on how to clean a MacBook keyboard.
