Google Patents Laptop Device With Detachable Dual Touchscreen Displays

Google has patented a new device that appears to be a new type of laptop featuring dual touchscreen displays. The new device can be arranged to look like a regular laptop or be folded and turned into a tablet.

The Google patent was first spotted by Slash Gear, while the full patent has been published on Fresh Patents. The patented concept device features two touchscreen displays, and when folded out, looks like a traditional laptop. The bottom portion can function like a touchscreen keyboard, while the top portion is for viewing content.

The two displays can also be detached from one another, allowing people to start using either one of them as tablets. Google’s concept suggests that both touchscreen displays will have the same hardware inside, meaning both of them can work independently from one another, as pointed out by Android Authority. It’s like having two tablets in one device.

“The technology relates to a dual display client apparatus, which may be arranged as a laptop, tablet, netbook or other type of portable electronic device,” Google wrote on its patent filing. “As noted above, such an arrangement is configured to operate as one device when the displays are connected. And when decoupled, the separate parts of the system are configured to each operate as a self-sufficient, standalone computing device.”

Although the patent suggests that both portions of the device can fully function independently from one another, it’s actually more powerful when they’re attached together. Google’s patent says that when both portions are attached together, the system will share computing power and other resources among the two housings. This will apparently provide more powerful and robust device than when the two touchscreens are separated.

It remains uncertain how useful this type of device would be in real life situations. It’s possible that this type of device may work well for a two-person project of some sort or for two-player games. In laptop mode, the two touchscreens can be useful in a number of ways. The bottom portion could be used for drawing or writing with a stylus-style pen, while the top portion could display the application.

The bottom portion of the device could also change depending on what app is running on the device. For example, when a user starts a text-based app, the bottom portion of the device could display a keyboard. When playing a movie on the top portion of the screen, the bottom screen could provide users with playback controls or an additional window for browsing other content.

The patent was filed by Google under the United States Patent and Trademark Office way back in May 2016, so it seems like that Google has been working on this device for some time now. Google did release a new premium Chromebook called the Pixel Book and it features a touchscreen display and even a stylus. It’s possible that the company is working on a next-generation version of the Pixel Book, or this could simply be another patent that may not even end up becoming a real product.