Apple patent describes glass or ceramic MacBook with embedded touch buttons

Apple briefly made a ceramic Apple Watch, but a new patent granted today raises the possibility of glass or ceramic MacBooks.

The patent includes near-invisible perforations in the material through which notification icons could be displayed with interactive buttons…

The patent majors on the technique for incorporating the micro-perforations rather than the material itself. The idea is that the display/button elements would be invisible when not illuminated.

The described embodiments relate generally to input regions of an electronic device. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to structures that conceal or obscure the presence of an input region […]

The electronic device includes an enclosure defining an inner volume and having a wall defining an input region having an array of microperforations. The electronic device further includes a light source positioned within the inner volume and configured to propagate light through the array of microperforations. The electronic device further includes a sensing element positioned within the inner volume and configured to detect input received along the input region. The array of microperforations are configured to be visually imperceptible when not illuminated by the light source. The array of microperforations are further configured to display a symbol when illuminated by the light source. 

Apple suggests ceramic as one suitable material for the casing, with glass and plastic as potential alternatives (though a plastic MacBook casing seems unlikely these days).

The translucent layer may be formed from one or more translucent materials including, for example, glass, ceramic, plastic, or a combination thereof. As used herein, the term translucent or translucent layer may be used to refer to a material or layer that allows the passage of light and does not require that the material or layer be transparent, clear, or otherwise free from features that scatter or absorb some amount of light.

Via Patently Apple