This week, Apple filed an interesting patent for a Multi-Touch version of its popular Aperture professional photography app. What’s particularly interesting about this patent is that it’s a Multi-Touch patent for a Mac app — one that requires a sizable amount of power to run. Aperture is generally run on high-end MacBook Pros, iMacs, and Mac Pros, not on iPads. The app utilizes the full features of powerful video cards to accelerate the application of effects to photographs. If Apple is planning on releasing this product, they will either need to create far more powerful iPads, or introduce Multi-Touch Macs. Either of these would be fantastic news for all of us, hence the interest in this patent.
Now, here we have a recently released patent that details an articulating Multi-Touch iMac that can be laid flat on a desk or at a slight incline to facilitate the easy use of a Multi-Touch display. On the screen in the illustration, you’ll notice what clearly appears to be a Multi-Touch photo management app — an app just like the one in the Aperture patent.
Another reason this is interesting is that Apple, in its videos about the new MacBook Airs, mocked the idea of using Multi-Touch on a vertical display, not on a Mac. The company may be secretive, but it rarely, if ever, lies about a future product. They simply say things that lead you to believe what they want you to believe when perceived at face value. It isn’t all that hard to figure out the direction the company is headed in, if you just apply a little thought to the public statements they make.
Apple isn’t bringing all these enhancements from iOS to Lion by accident. They clearly have a plan for the Mac that’s a lot bigger and more innovative than simply using a mouse for the rest of our lives. They also clearly view the concepts embodied in iOS and Multi-Touch as the future of the Mac platform. Of course, we aren’t likely to see iOS on the Mac per se. What we almost undoubtedly will see is a future Mac OS that takes full advantage of all the things Apple has pioneered on the iPad, but with all the power the Mac brings to bear. The future obviously holds some really incredible advancements for the Mac. This is going to be great.
Photo Credit: Patently Apple
