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Apple has long experimented with the concept of a physical keyboard built into the screen. Among them are the patented 3D Touch keyboard, the E-Ink keyboard that can change according to the application and the keyboard with user-changeable symbols.
Although Apple has been planning to integrate this technology for years on the MacBook. It will most likely still not be used even though MacBooks in 2025 will support touch screens. The concept of a keyboard like this is also not new because Phorm has been trying to develop it since 2015.
Recently, two researchers from the Future Interfaces Group (FIG) at Carnegie Mellon University have developed flat panel haptics, which is a flat screen that has built-in haptic feedback. This technology uses an electroosmotic pump that can move liquid through electricity with only 1.5mm sized components.
When this screen is turned on a 5mm high button will appear which when pressed will give the effect of pressing a real keyboard key. For now this technology is still in the early stages where the shape and size cannot be changed except for the input that can be set.
They plan in the future this technology can be implemented to the screen pixel level so that the size can be changed to fit on different types of devices.