I’ve long wanted a Mac laptop with built-in cellular. A newly filed patent hints that Apple is at least considering the possibility.
About the patent filing
The patent filing, dubbed “Laptop Computer With Phased Antenna Array,” relates generally to electronic devices, including electronic devices with wireless communications capabilities. In it, Apple notes that electronic devices such as portable computers and cellular telephones are often provided with wireless communications capabilities and displays.
Apple says that to satisfy consumer demand for small form factor wireless devices, manufacturers are continually striving to implement wireless communications circuitry such as antenna components using compact structures. The tech giant adds that “it can be challenging to form antennas with desired attributes.”
In some devices, the presence of conductive housing structures can block or otherwise deteriorate antenna performance. Hopefully, Apple will resolve such issues and finally give us a Mac laptop with the cellular options currently offered with the iPad.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “An electronic device such as a laptop computer may have upper and lower housings. The upper housing may be coupled to the lower housing by a hinge having a hinge axis. The lower housing may have an upper metal wall, a lower metal wall, and an angled metal wall that extends from the upper metal wall towards the lower metal wall.
“The lower housing may include a phased antenna array with a set of antennas aligned along a linear axis. The phased antenna array may be aligned with a dielectric window in the upper metal wall and may be oriented such that the linear axis is orthogonal to the hinge axis, or may be aligned with a dielectric window in the angled metal wall. One or more processors may adjust the phased antenna array based on the position of the upper housing relative to the lower housing.”
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