Future Mac laptops may have ‘deployable feet’ to help with cooling and user comfort

Many folks use a stand with Mac laptops to adjust the computer to a variety of comfortable user angles, as well as to have circulating air to keep the devices cool. However, per a newly filed patent (number 20210089077), there may eventually be no need for a stand as Apple portables could have “deployable feet.”

In the patent filing, Apple says that, currently, it can be cumbersome to try and move a laptop’s display for a variety of viewing angles. What’s more, the tech giant says there’s a “strong demand” for electronic devices, especially portable electronic devices, such as laptop computers, to be thin and lightweight while simultaneously including numerous features delivering high performance.

For these reasons, Apple says it’s “desirable for an electronic device to include deployable features that can both increase clearance of the base portion and also improve the efficiency of the internal volume of the base portion, while maintaining a portable and sleek form factor. 

Here’s the summary of the patent filing: “An electronic device can include a base portion, a display portion rotatably mounted to the base portion, and a deployable feature. The deployable feature can be deployed from a surface of the base portion by an actuation component coupled to the deployable feature. The deployable feature can support the electronic device, increase clearance above a support surface for one or more portions of the electronic device, and/or allow additional functionality for the electronic device.”