Apple in talks to acquire Australian startup Sonder in quest for 'magic keyboard' – reports

Apple is reportedly closing in on a Australian startup that has pioneered dynamic, customisable “magic keyboards”.

The Sydney tech company Sonder has designed a smart keyboard that can be customised to accommodate any language, shortcut or custom icon, using the same E Ink display technology used by Kindle.

Apple’s looming acquisition of the company was first reported on Wednesday by a Reddit user purporting to have used an Apple prototype using Sonder technology at an event at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she worked.

The Incubator Innoconn event was organised by Foxconn International Holdings, Apple’s manufacturing partner, for startups it has invested in. The woman’s identity was verified by Reddit moderators.

A representative for Sonder confirmed its chief executive, Francisco Serra-Martins, attended the event and that the startup was in talks with Apple’s procurement board.

Separate to the Reddit report, the Guardian can confirm the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, met with Serra-Martins in China on Tuesday.

Both Apple and Sonder have been contacted by the Guardian for comment.

The Reddit user said the prototype magic keyboard used an adaptive interface developed by Sonder, similar to that of a early demo unit it publicised on YouTube.

The Reddit user said the chief differences between the Apple prototype and that shown in the Sonder clip was all the keys had a screen and lighting panel, and the display updated instantly with no slow transition from black to white.

As a design-for-testing model not due to be released before 2018, the design was far from confirmed but the Reddit user seemed optimistic about the early unit.

“It’s really a solid indication of the future of input technology,” she wrote. “Apple has a reputation of making big leaps which are seen to be unpopular but then become the new standard.

“Dynamic keyboards are the standard for phones, they will be for laptops and desktops too.”

The representative responding to her post said the company was also about to close on procurement contracts with three third-party laptop companies to integrate its technology into their products.

Foxconn and E Ink Holdings, both strategic partners of Sonder, were assisting in the discussions with Apple. The company is partly owned by third-party companies and is in the middle of raising an investment round.

Sonder’s own keyboard is due for release later this year, with preorders at US$199.

Serra-Martins and his twin brother, Felipe, participated in the Genesis startup program at the University of Sydney’s business school last year with the concept for dynamic, affordable keyboards.

They were later awarded a grant from the New South Wales state government, as well as the people’s choice award at the 2016 Good Design Australia awards.