A possible Surface Pen with a touchscreen would be nice, but will it go beyond just a patent?

We have talked on several occasions about the improvements that Microsoft could be working on when optimizing the use of the Surface Pen. Performance and design improvements that were in the development phase, leaving it unknown whether they would ever become a reality. But of all of them, none is as groundbreaking as this one.

Do you remember how users reacted when Apple launched the MacBook Pro with a touch bar (the famous TouchBar) replacing the classic function keys? Well something like that is what this patent from Microsoft reveals, but on the Surface Pen.

Not without my Surface Pen

The Surface Pen has not undergone excessive cosmetic changes since its arrival on the market. It is a peripheral that improves the use in tablets and convertibles but does not quite break. In contrast, Samsung has indeed improved the functions of the S Pen that has been incorporated into the Samsung Galaxy Note since its first version. In the current version it serves as a remote control and it has even been rumored about the inclusion of a camera.

So this step by Microsoft would be a big leap, imitating, if you can put it that way, what Apple did with its MacBook ProAnd this new patent reveals a Surface pen with one side occupied by a touch screen. Regardless of how usability turns out, potential-wise it can be huge.

And it is that on said screen you could see notifications, access remote control of applications, access messages, serve as a remote control…in fact in the patent they explain that the Surface Pen detects the way in which the user holds the device and adapts to offer one or another type of interaction.

In the images of the patent, published by the USPTO two days ago, you can see different examples of what could be the operation of the Surface Pen based on current usage.

For now we are left with the fact that it is only a patent and we can read that far. It would not be bad if Microsoft added improvements to the peripheral of the Surface range. Improvements to differentiate itself from the competition and incidentally achieve that it will become an almost essential accessory due to the functions it offers.

Via | Windows Latest Font | USPTO