We have seen laptop concepts in the past where manufacturers have adopted innovative approaches to designing the trackpad. Now, E Ink announced it has developed a touchscreen e-paper trackpad for use on future laptop devices. E Ink announced that it has partnered with Intel to develop an e-paper trackpad, which will be compatible with Intel’s Smart Base, Intel Innovation Platform Framework, and Intel AI Assistant Builder technologies.
Having an e-paper display down below has its own advantages. For one, it serves as a secondary display where you can have a host of information displayed. That includes reminders, to-do lists, meeting minutes, and so on. Or you can also showcase an art piece that can function as a sort of screensaver and will disappear once you touch the trackpad.
In any case, E Ink said the e-paper trackpad would be capable of performing real-time edge AI applications thanks to all Intel solutions’ support. Those can be like performing custom AI tasks, generating GenAI content like text/image summaries, gaming tactics, and so on. There can also be system notifications shown on the trackpad apart from it performing its usual role of supporting different shortcuts.
“With the development tools and reference architecture provided by the Intel Smart Base ecosystem, we’ve created ultra-slim, energy-efficient modules optimized for AI PC designs. These modules enable seamless integration of ePaper displays into laptop touchpad areas—delivering crisp visuals, low power consumption, and a novel interactive experience,” stated JM Hung, the Vice President of Business Center of E Ink Holdings.
The use of e-paper display for the laptop trackpad of the future instead of LCD panels makes sense, considering that e-paper has a meagre power requirement. They also have excellent readability and wide viewing angles. Also, given that e-paper displays consume zero power for showing static images, you can have an image or a cover art displayed for as long as you want without draining the battery.
While it remains uncertain whether an e-paper-enabled trackpad will indeed reach the market or will remain a futuristic laptop concept, what is amply clear is that it holds immense potential. The color e-paper display can enhance both the aesthetic and performance of future AI-enabled laptops. Moreover, given its compatibility with Intel’s reference designs and solutions Moreover, it could also serve as a scalable medium for advancing AI hardware applications. Stay tuned!