New Macs are right around the corner, but the rumor mill is already looking ahead. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple is said to be working on a customizable e-ink keyboard for future MacBooks. E-ink keycaps could easily be used to switch between multiple languages or give users easier access to macros and special characters like emoji. Apple reportedly plans to ship the keyboards in its computers beginning in 2018.

Apple is said to be working with Sonder Design on the concept—the Australian company's $200 Sonder Keyboard is currently available for preorder, and it can be viewed as a proof-of-concept for these future Mac keyboards. Sonder's styling is already reminiscent of Apple's standard chiclet keyboards, so it's not hard to imagine a future revision that actually ships with Apple's products. Apple is currently said to be in acquisition talks with Sonder.

Making standard hardware keyboards mimic the customizability and flexibility of iOS' software keyboard appears to be a major goal for Apple; new MacBook Pros, said to be coming at an event next week, will reportedly use a customizable OLED display bar in place of function keys. This approach might work for one row of keys, but an entire OLED keyboard would put a lot of pressure on a laptop's battery. E-ink is a more power-efficient way to accomplish the same goal.