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E Ink has introduced a new touchpad for laptops utilizing the electronic paper technology familiar in e-readers. Many companies have explored the potential of enlarging laptop touchpads to add various functions, but E Ink is taking a unique route. Instead of turning it into a secondary display for the main operating system, E Ink is designing its touchpad specifically to accommodate AI applications and digital assistants.
The company shared a conceptual image of a laptop equipped with a touchpad that features a color E Ink screen, akin to those used in devices like the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft. E Ink’s vision for this touchpad is not to simply extend the laptop’s main display, but to act as a separate interface. This could allow users to see AI-generated text summaries below their hands as they’re working on documents or to engage with an AI chatbot consistently without needing to switch between multiple desktop windows.
An advantage of E Ink’s technology is its low power consumption, as it only draws energy when the display is being updated. This energy efficiency is particularly beneficial given that AI tools can place greater demands on a laptop’s battery life.
Similar to Apple’s now discontinued Touch Bar, E Ink also says the touchpad display could provide quick access to frequently used shortcuts, display notifications or the weather, or provide temporary playback controls without having to sacrifice a laptop keyboard’s row of function keys. It would also help reduce battery anxiety, because unlike LCD or OLED panels, E Ink’s display technology only consumes power when it’s being updated. That’s a big benefit given the higher demands of AI tools on a laptop’s battery life.
What’s not currently known are more in-depth technical specifications. Aside from the touchpad potentially using color e-paper displays, E Ink hasn’t revealed if it will adapt one of its current panels, or if it’s developed an entirely new one with increased resolutions. Today’s announcement specifically references compatibility with Intel-based AI PCs, but E Ink didn’t go into details about whether the touchpad display would be powered by a laptop’s primary OS, or if it would feature its own. The company also didn’t provide a timeline for when these touchpads might start showing up in laptops or which hardware makers may be interested.
